As we embrace the beauty of November and the bountifulness of the Thanksgiving season, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude for your continued support. Your engagement and enthusiasm inspire us every day, and we are truly thankful to have you as a part of our community.
This month let’s celebrate the spirit of gratitude together. We look forward to bringing you more exciting content, event information and updates in the future.
Have you seen our latest video about the upcoming Ruck March and Food Drive, happening November 10? If not, click here.
The latest hurricane spawned some devastating tornadoes in our area, but the way our community came together to assist was remarkable. Read about it in Mayor Michael Napoleone’s “Mayor’s Column” this month.
On a related note, Heidi Hess writes about checking in on our friends who may have been affected by the hurricane in “Mommy Moments.” Read her article “Give Thanks, Give Love.”
Heidi’s daughter Savannah Hess writes “Teen Talk” for us this month with an article about handling stress during the holidays. See “Mental Health Tips for the Holidays.”
Speaking of the holidays, there are some holiday traditions coming up. Mark your calendar for December 6th for WinterFest, featuring Wellington’s own Vanilla Ice. Then get ready for the 40th Annual Wellington Holiday Parade on December 8th. There’s still time to make a difference by donating canned food to the Wellington Holiday Food Drive up until Nov. 15th. Or you can bring your donated goods to the Wellington Ruck March and Food Drive on Nov. 10th.
There are many other articles to explore this month. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
Joe Henderson (Photo by David Lominska/Courtesy of the USPA)
LAKE WORTH, FL (November 1, 2024) – The Board of Directors of the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame have announced the 2025 inductees into the Museum’s Polo Hall of Fame.
The honorees are Joe Henderson, Jimmy Bachman, Jorie Butler Kent, Susan Stovall, and legendary horses Flash and Beatrice.
The 36th Annual Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Awards Dinner is one of the premier social events of the winter polo season in Florida and is scheduled for Friday, February 14, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. at the Museum of Polo.
Welcome to the Hall of Fame, Joe Henderson.
Henderson, who reached 8 goals outdoors and 10 goals in the arena, has won numerous major high-goal tournaments on grass, including the C.V. Whitney in 1987 as well as the America Cup twice and the North American Cup four times. He also dominated the 1987 Pacific Coast Open, winning the title while sweeping the MVP and BPP. In 1993, Henderson and Fish Creek reached the U.S. Open final, losing 11-10 to Gehache, while he was selected as the MVP.
Henderson was also a dynamic arena player, winning numerous titles en route to a 10-goal handicap while earning Arena Player of the Year in 1988 and 1992 and recognized as Arena Player of the Centennial Era in 1990.
Posthumous Hall of Fame inductee Jimmy Bachman had considerable success at all levels, winning the 20-goal Monty Waterbury Cup in 1983 and reaching the finals of both the 26-goal Sunshine League in 1985 and the 20-goal East Coast Open. He captured numerous medium-goal tournaments as well, including the Copper Cup (1987 and 1988), Bronze Trophy (1988 and 1989), the 1990 Heritage Cup and the 1991 Chairman’s Cup. But he made his name dominating low-goal polo, especially at Gulfstream in the 1980s.
Bachman reached 7 goals in 1986 and played at that handicap until his untimely death in 1991.
Iglehart Award recipient Jorie Butler Kent is an iconic figure in U.S. polo, born into the sport. Her father, Paul Butler, is synonymous with Oak Brook Polo and so is his daughter, who managed the club from 1967-1979, a first for a woman.
Butler Kent continued her interest in polo and, along with Sue Sally Hale and several others, became the first women to receive handicaps from the USPA in 1972. She also organized the USPA Polo Pony Championship and helped to establish the rules and registry. She continued to be a pioneer in the sport when she secured the first international corporate sponsorship – Rolex Watch.
Additionally, Butler Kent was integral to the early successes of many clubs, including Palm Beach Polo, Greenwich, and Windsor Polo in Vero Beach as well as the Museum of Polo.
The posthumous Iglehart Award honoree and “force of nature” Susan Stovall left an indelible mark on the world of polo, both as a pioneer for women’s polo and on the sport in general.
Stovall did it all – from riding early morning sets to competing on the field, to organizing tournaments, to entertaining royalty and celebrities at charity polo events.
She was a respected and much beloved manager of Eldorado for 26 years, while also continuing to play and continuing to help run her family’s polo operation, the White Swan Polo Club in Washington.
Under her watch Eldorado grew to become the largest polo club on the West Coasts with dozens of teams regularly competing thanks to her no-nonsense approach, organizing skills, enthusiasm and the genuine love for people that made them all feel welcome.
The Horses to Remember honoree of the early pre-Hartman era is Beatrice, who was a warrior on and off the polo field.
The little dark bay mare excelled in three International series for the U.S., ridden by two Hall of Famers, Dev Milburn (1924 Westchester Cup) and Winston Guest (1928 Cup of the Americas, 1930 Westchester Cup). She also played in the 1921 Westchester Cup for the British team.
Beatrice was also a real war hero. At the age of 16, she served as an artillery horse in the British Army, and was awarded a gold medal, which she wore pinned on her saddle pad while playing for the U.S. international team.
The phenomenal chestnut thoroughbred gelding Flash, whose actual name was Rockey Kid, will be recognized as “Horses to Remember, post-Hartman Award Era.”
In the 1970s, Flash helped several top players achieve tremendous victories. During the successful run of high-goal tournaments in Chicago in 1973, John Oxley purchased Flash along with the Linfoot string, greatly helping his players. Flash earned three Best Playing Pony awards played by Billy Linfoot, Roy Barry, and Corky Linfoot all in the same year.
Flash also competed in the Coronation Cups and Queens Cup in England. Among her many highlights was being named Horse of the Year for April 1976-April 1977 and featured on the cover of Polo Magazine.
The black-tie Hall of Fame Awards Dinner is the most important annual fundraising event for the Museum, an independently run, not-for-profit 501(c)(3). Contact Brenda Lynn at the Museum of Polo, (561) 969-3210 or (561) 969-7015, e-mail: blynn@polomuseum.org for further details, information, or to make your reservations.
Who: Independent, Assisted Living and Memory Care community Wellington Bay
When:Monday, November 11 – 11:30am
Where: Wellington Bay. 2550 Wellington Bay Dr. Wellington, FL 33414
What:
Luxury Senior Living community Wellington Bay is hosting a Veterans Day ceremony featuring the reveal of our new Wall of Honor.
This event pays tribute to Wellington Bay veterans who have served this country with honor in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and Marine Corp.
We invite residents, community members, and media to join us in this celebration.
Veterans Day Schedule:
11:30 a.m. – Wall of Honor Reveal in the Wellington Bay Lobby
12:00 p.m. – Presentation of ‘The Colors’ by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Honor Guard, followed by a Patriotic Sing-Along led by resident Shelly Block in the Wellington Bay Liberty Center.
We are also honored to welcome Honor Portraits, a nonprofit organization of dedicated local photographers and volunteers committed to recognizing individuals who have served our country and community.
Earlier this year, they captured powerful images of our veterans, which will be displayed as part of our Wall of Honor.
to provide free dental cleanings to Boys & Girls Club children
Who: Palm Beach State College’s Dental Hygiene students and clinical faculty will provide free preventive dental treatment for children from the Wellington Boys and Girls Club. The children were preregistered with permission of their parents or guardians. Walk-ins cannot be accommodated during this time.
What: Continuing a long tradition that was interrupted by the pandemic, Palm Beach State’s Dental Health Services department is hosting a Give Kids a Smile event in conjunction with the national event founded by the American Dental Association in 2003. Each year, approximately 37,000 dental health professionals volunteer at local GKAS events to provide free oral health education, screenings, and preventive and restorative treatment to over 300,000 children. To date, over 7 million underserved children have received free oral health services through the GKAS program.
At the GKAS event hosted by PBSC, children will be treated by students currently enrolled in the Dental Hygiene Associate in Science degree program under the direct supervision of clinical faculty. Each child will receive a dental cleaning, x-rays (if needed), fluoride treatment, sealants, and oral health education. (Dental sealants can prevent up to 80% of cavities and protect teeth for several years.)
When: Nov. 5, 2024 from 10 a.m. to noon
Where:Dental Health Services Bldg., 1st Floor (Dental Hygiene Care Center)
Lake Worth campus, 4200Congress Ave.
Enter at main Congress Avenue entrance (at traffic light between Sixth Avenue South and Lake Worth Road). Once on the campus, take the first left. At the stop sign, turn right. The Dental Health (DH) building is the one-story building on the right.
Why: Tooth decay (dental caries) is the most prevalent chronic disease among children and adolescents. Untreated tooth decay causes pain and infections that may lead to problems in eating, speaking, playing and learning. According to Floridians for Dental Access, Florida ranks last (50th out of 50 states) in the percentage of children receiving a dental health visit in the last 12 months, and 1 out of 4 (25.1%) Florida third graders have untreated cavities, making Florida the sixth worst state in the nation for this measure. Give Kids a Smile events are held annually to:
Provide free dental services to local, qualifying children from low-income families.
Raise awareness of the epidemic of untreated dental disease occurring across the country.
Raise awareness of the need to build local public and private partnerships to increase access to oral health care to solve this crisis.
A person’s home is their castle, their kingdom, a sanctuary.
Whether it’s a place where they planted roots and raised a family or a place they moved to in the second stage of their life to find peace and contentment, the concept of home should evoke a sense of serenity, calm and well-being.
However, as we age, our home may become more than we can handle and we might need to make the difficult decision to move into an environment better suited to our comfort, health and safety.
Wellington Bay not only provides a luxurious living environment for retirees seeking independent living but also offers expert assisted living and memory care services through their on-site memory care facility, Lisbet Health Center.
“Making the transition into Assisted Living or Memory Care can be a very stressful decision for individuals and their loved ones,” said Jay Mikosch, Campus Executive Director at Wellington Bay. “Once safety and activities of daily living are compromised, it is necessary to find options to ensure basic needs are being met. It’s important to remember that assisted living and memory care facilities are designed to prioritize autonomy, safety and care.”
The decision for a loved one to move into assisted living can be a difficult one with many factors to consider but feeling supported and heard during this transitional period as well as being equipped with knowledge can help make the transition easier.
In honor of Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, Jay is sharing some information about signs to look out for when considering the decision to move into a residential assisted living community.
Maintaining physical safety is one of the biggest indicators.
As we get older, we lose both muscle mass and strength and the lenses in our eyes become less flexible, leading to worsening vision. This can increase the likelihood of falls and other accidents – a frightening prospect for both seniors and the people who love them.
Each resident at Wellington Bay is given a wearable device upon check-in which alerts staff in case of an emergency and ensures they will receive the medical care they need.
“Currently, all staff and almost all residents wear the NxtGen Care Resident M Factor Tech,” said Selina Huong Tran, R.N, Administrator of Lisbet Health Center at Wellington Bay. “We can locate all residents and staff in the building at all times and this system improves response times to resident calls as well as it documents how long we take to respond to any given call.”
The ability to locate residents is crucial, especially if they experience issues like memory loss or other cognitive difficulties which could indicate a neurological condition like Alzheimer’s disease.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, 60% of people with Alzheimer’s wander at least once and many do so repeatedly which can be dangerous at best and life-threatening at worst. Alzheimer’s patients may attempt to “go home” despite being at home, forget how to get to familiar places, get lost and wander into traffic.
“At Lisbet Memory Care, we offer specialized services for people with Alzheimer’s. We have a staff trained to work with people with cognitive impairments and our facility is a secure environment, equipped with secured doors, alarms and enclosed outdoor areas,” Jay said. “We offer structured routines such as scheduled meals and activities which are designed to promote cognitive stimulation as well as social interaction and we make sure we personalize every single care plan to the individual.”
As we get older, our medical needs also increase. We might start taking medication more often and might need more intensive medical care.
Care is viewed through a holistic lens with assisted living communities like Wellington Bay offering three balanced meals daily, ensuring proper hydration and offering life engagement activities to keep residents cognitively and physically engaged.
They also offer medication management implemented by a licensed professional. This includes not only administering medications but also watching for side effects and coordinating with pharmacies to ensure refills are received in a timely manner. They also offer preventative health monitoring services like regular blood pressure, temperature and oxygen saturation checks as well as blood sugar monitoring and cholesterol screenings for those who might need the additional medical support.
“Forgetting to take medication can have serious consequences,” Jay said. “The more doses you miss, the greater the chance of developing life-threatening health complications. Having a trained staff member meticulously monitor medication relieves stress for both the resident and their loved ones.”
There are many factors to consider when moving into an assisted living facility – health, safety, socialization and personalized care by a trained professional – and finding the right fit between community and person takes dedicated research and time.
“Take a tour of the community to get a feel for what it’s really like,” Jay said. “People should also review online reviews and social media posts in order to make the most informed decision.”
However, the effort put in is worth it as you know that your loved one will receive the attention and care they need to improve their quality of life as they grow older.
My friend arrived from her trip to the west coast of Florida. Her house in Winter Park was fine. Her best friends house in Tampa wasn’t so lucky, and so she headed over to help her recover. Like a lot of people, she was in shock, unable to emote, move forward or ask for help.
We watch the news with our family. Heck, maybe we know people who were affected by the tornadoes in Wellington and Loxahatchee. I’m fortunate to say that my friends and family were unscathed.
Or were they? Based on my friend’s reaction, I quickly skimmed through my local friends. Do I know someone that was going through something similar? Shocked and unable to ask for the help they need?
Maybe this Thanksgiving we could encourage our kids to check in on our friends more regularly. Sometimes, the issues are obvious- a hurricane, tornadoes or flooding. Other times, it’s more subtle, quiet problems that are leaving them shell shocked and unable to even ask for help.
So as you gather around your table, think about the people in your life that could be hurting. What can we do to help them? It might be something simple. A small gesture at the right time could mean everything.
Love, real love, comes not from words but from our actions.
Preheat the oven to 375°F and lightly grease a 2-quart casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine the ingredients and mix well. Pour the mixture into the casserole dish. Bake 40 to 50 minutes, or until the spoon bread is golden brown and set.
Starting a fitness regimen or maintaining an active lifestyle can take a toll on the body, often resulting in muscle soreness, tension, and pain with your everyday movements. Recovery looks different for everyone, though. That’s where massage therapy comes in—a valuable tool not just for athletes, but for anyone engaging in regular physical activity looking for a tool that doesn’t include more weight and movement. David Hess, LMT CPT, massage therapist for Florida Atlantic University Athletics, lets us in on this preventive and corrective practice.
According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, massage therapy involves “manipulating the soft tissues of the body” in many areas of the body including low-back pain, neck and shoulder pain, osteoarthritis of the knee and even headaches. Pain inflicted by gym weights or the weight of life presents itself the same in the human body which is why massage therapy is so versatile. Hess says that the “increased circulation brings nutrients to the tissue and assists in the removal of waste materials” in the body.
The benefits of massage therapy are well-documented and widely recognized. For gym-goers and athletes, massages help in reducing “muscle hypertonicity and adhesions to restore length and function” Hess states, which is fundamental for performance enhancement and injury prevention. But not all of us are athletes.
“The benefits are the same whether you’re a weekend warrior or a professional athlete…but we also see non-athletic injuries as well. Auto accidents, falls, repetitive movements and stress disorders. All of which can be treated with different variations of massage therapy.”
Except massage therapy doesn’t always have to be in response to an injury. Hess would consider massage therapy both preventative and corrective. “Although all injuries can’t be completely avoided, some can be prevented. Treatment to a dysfunctionally tight muscle can restore it to its normal length and decrease the chances of a more serious injury.”
Office workers, for instance, benefit from massage therapy to alleviate tension from prolonged sitting, while individuals recovering from surgery may find it aids in reducing scar tissue and enhancing mobility.
Hess adds that it’s equally as important knowing how to find a qualified massage therapist as much as it is knowing the benefits of the practice. “All massage therapists in Florida need to be licensed and that license number has to be visible in all their advertisements. The license number will look like MA#. You can even look up a therapist’s license number on the Department Of Health website (floridahealthe.gov). A therapist should carry liability insurance.”
Lastly, Hess stresses that you will get the best results if you know what modality of massage therapy you need. You wouldn’t go to a therapist who specializes in cupping and neuromuscular practices when you need lymphatic drainage or reflexology. You can find more information on different modalities using online resources.
Hess is currently accepting new clients at his Wellington, Florida office. Appointments can be made by visiting www.hesssportsmassage.com.
This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still, treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.
