05/09/2023
This board has been the board of this organization for almost five years. An organization built for a retirement community whose neighborhood demographics changed and it became lost from its own neighborhood. An organization that had limited community interaction with the main goal of serving it’s members. This board replaced that model with an organization that put the unity back into community. It was hard for many members including board members to make this change. We were already broke how could we possibly do better giving more than we had. Luckily they trusted that my craziness might just work and we made a huge difference to this neighborhood.
We hosted BBQs for first responders, we held events that collected donations for Big Brother Big Sister, Ruff Rescue, Runaway Rescue, and the Pasco Shoe Drive. We held drives for luggage to help foster kids transition, items for Veterans in the hospital, and collections to provide our unhoused with pocketbooks and book bags of things they may need including mylar blankets, band aids, socks, and medicine.
Doing clean ups for the adopt a road requirements, dumpster days and the Great American Clean Ups took over 200 tons of trash out of the neighborhood. We even had people in kayaks and boats cleaning the canal.
We became the local go to for people struggling with limited funds. People who found apartments but had no furniture, people whose homes burned down needing clothing and basic necessities. If you put up a post on any local chat that you are in need there will be multiple suggestions of getting in touch with the TAT.
Our reviews include” The people here reached out to me in my time of need. They have helped me to rebuild my life here in Florida from scratch. My husband and I sold everything we owned in Colorado in order for us to move here so that I can take part in a brain cancer vaccine trial at Moffitt cancer center. I am so grateful for their help and hope to be able to pay it forward very soon. ❤”.
We truly shined through COVID as many places shut down and some even closed for good TAT extended hours to keep people safe, opened the parking lot to truckers in need, gave out our Internet password to the neighborhood so kids could do homework, let the schools set up weekly food drop offs in our parking lot, began a food pantry, made appointments for members to get vaccinated when you had to sit online at a certain time each morning to try and grab a time slot and when we could we brought in a company to give vaccinations to those who wanted them.
We have opened the hall to non for profits like NA,AA, local HOAs and HCC who partnered with us and not only helped the neighborhood in all of our endeavors helped TAT raise funds, and helped fix many issues we could not afford to do without them.
We have also partnered with many county representatives. Our relationship with Keep Pasco Beautiful and HCC helped TAT get the new neighborhood park that will include dog park, playground, pavilion, walking track, trees, disability swings, and outdoor gym equipment coming in September.
While many of these endeavors did not bring in money at face value they brought in friendships, barter systems, confidence in the community, and many more memberships than TAT had had in a long time.
To make money to keep afloat most of our time we held events and had rentals. Again Our reviews are excellent with statements like “They are amazing people, they went above and beyond to help with making the celebration of life come together.” and “Absolutely incredible venue with the most wonderful staff. Far exceed our expectations. If you ask a question on event spaces in any local chat group TAT is suggested by multiple people. We have held absolutely stunning events and awesome themed parties.
For a place named Holiday there isn’t much focus on them but we implemented the Christmas parade, the Easter egg hunt, the Christmas walk, and the Halloween haunted walk. I liked the pig roast the best with Kat and Sharon in coconut bras but many would state the battle of the bands beat it out for most fun. Spring fest was epic with Kathy in her bunny suit at 200 degrees but no one wore it better than Jackson in our annual Easter Parade though it was the Anclote Marching band overheating that time. Nothing a jump in the pool couldn’t fix.
We are all well aware that the giveaway provided more than a few thousand kids with holiday gifts, and basic necessities they may not have had otherwise. Jim and Linda marks we could not have done that without you.
TAT became kid oriented in many ways, trying to grow with the changes of the neighborhood. TAT has become much more diverse in many areas including race, sexual orientation, and most of all in ages. TAT which once served a retirement community began to represent the neighborhood as it is now with many working families. Every event has become like a family party where the kids feel welcomed, comfortable, and cared about. They ask their grandparents “ Can’t we just go to TAT for ten minutes ?” Bunnies, turtles, cats, raccoons, snakes, frogs, and butterflies, toys, dive in movies, and scavenger hunts kept kids occupied and making friends, while their parents could take a minute to relax, breathe, make friends that would help each other in the future with the kids. Parents exchanging clothing at the clothing swaps, or amongst themselves, parents helping with babysitting duties or car pools, having the TAT kids swoop in to save a birthday party no one attended. We have watched those relationships grow as much as we have watched the kids grow into awesome little people and it is the perfect representation of how community should be.
Our first year Renae, Nicolette, Kevin, Rick, Robin, Mary, Ron and Andi worked every weekend to make a couple hundred here and there to get us in a place that bills were paid without tears. We worked all week in the community garden and clearing out the messes of fifty years left to rot in the back building. My family members also helping all the time Marvin, Sherryl, Casey, the kids and multiple visiting members.
This board busted it’s ass with few volunteers to keep everything going. Don’t get me wrong I appreciate Ellen and Laurels many many donations to the thrift store, Bill helping with the landscaping, Anita cleaning up the lanai, Milly putting chairs back around the tables Gene is always a big help so on and so forth. It was the original boards efforts and the daily die hards Kathy, Kevin,Allen,Kat and Niles who made it all possible.
I cannot express any harder the need for participation from members. The last meeting we had this discussion and it is needed again. The fact that we ended up in such a hole when John and my mother got sick shows how an organization cannot be on so few shoulders. Kat, Allen, Ron, Mary, and Kathy have all been sick in one way or another and each of us has dealt with a loss. Husbands, mothers, and friends. When John went in the hospital and then died my mind had to be diverted from TAT survival mode to my own family’s survival mode and unfortunately TAT paid the price. Unfortunately one person cannot do it all especially while working a forty hr work week. There is no choice but to walk away and hope it works out when trying to keep up is impossible.
There are many things the new board is walking into that I wish was not an issue such as a green pool, and an issue with money however they are still walking into a better situation than this board did five years ago. They will have to make decisions on how to proceed in fixing the issues. The same conversations will be had that we had over the years do we up dues….if we up membership dues, membership goes down ok so we keep it cheap. Do we have more events? Who will run them? These months are the worst money will come in soon so Rob Peter to pay payl…so on and so forth. The bottom line is if everyone isn’t pitching in physically and financially A little here, little there it cannot make it.
The volunteers are putting in full time hours, paying for their pool memberships, paying for their food at events they bought, cooked and set up and in some cases do not even get to eat. This is not a viable system.
Right now the issue will be dealing with the insurance claim which has yet to be completed from the water explosion in the library.
The water bill from said explosion.
The pool.
Finding new insurance.
Finding out if our taxes are good because Annie’s guy has been indicted.
Having people sitting around taking in the money owed on memberships, RV lots, and parking.
Trying to run this organization without my mother who piddled around twelve hrs a day to keep it beautiful. A trip around the property shows the loss since her being ill.
Bonds still have to be paid though we paid quite a few.
Events will be needed and I believe a Motown event is coming this month. Luckily those who like doing events have agreed to continue to help.
These things need to be addressed and I am sure they will do so in a way that keeps the good things that have been implemented here.
On a personal note I have made some of my closest friends here. I without a doubt could not have made it through the past five years without the people I have met here. While TAT could be a complete s**t show many times in the past five years … so was my life. The people here showed up numerous occasions be it food for a funeral or deviled eggs because they know I love them. Driving my kids to school because I couldn’t or sending good juju in hopes the tides would turn. Hugs and booze can always be found around any corner in this neighborhood. I am forever grateful for the family created here, my tribe. I thank those who helped carry out all of the amazing things we accomplished here, I wish the New board luck and hope they try desperately like we all did not to f**k it up.
