November 2012 Forever Young Lifestyle Magazine

FOREVER YOUNGFOREVER YOUNGLifestyle MagazineCelebra t ing the 50-Plus Communi ty o f the Pa lm Beaches

A Town-Crier Publication

November 2012

InsideImmigrant Businessmen Share Their Stories

Recalling Shark Experts Ron & Valerie Taylor

New Nonprofit Aims To Help Seniors In Need

Jordano Finds Perfect Policy For Each Client

Immigrant Businessmen Share Their Stories




Immigrant Businessmen Share Their Stories




Florida Supreme Court JusticeFlorida Supreme Court Justice

Jorge LabargaJorge Labarga

November 2012 • Forever Young Lifestyle Magazine •

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‘Celebrating the50-Plus Community

of the Palm Beaches’

NoveMber 2012

PublisherBarry S. Manning

executive editorJoshua I. Manning

Associate PublisherDawn Rivera

Director of SalesCarl Rosenberg

Project editorChris Felker

Senior editorsJason Budjinski

Ron Bukley

Art & Production ManagerStephanie Rodriguez

bookkeepingCarol Lieberman

Account ManagersBetty Buglio

Evie EdwardsWanda Glockson

ContributorsDenise Fleischman

Jessica GregoireSusan LernerLauren MiróJoe Nasuti

Abner PedrazaDeborah Welky

Forever Young Lifestyle Magazineis published by

Newspaper Publishers Inc.12794 W. Forest Hill Blvd., Suite 31

Wellington, FL 33414Phone: (561) 793-7606

Fax: (561) 793-1470www.foreveryounglifestylemagazine.com

Forever Young Lifestyle Magazine is published monthly. Copyright 2012, all rights reserved by Newspaper Publishers Inc. Contents may not be reproduced in any form without the written consent of the publisher. The publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising. The publisher accepts no respon-sibility for advertisement errors beyond the cost of the portion of the advertisement occupied by the error within the advertisement itself. The publisher accepts no responsibility for submitted materials. All submitted materials subject to editing.

CoNteNtSYour guide to this month’s issue

Columnsthe Holiday Season In My Family remains A time of traditions

memorY lane bY joe NASutI, PAge 29

Planning to Die on My Watch? Forget About It — I’m Not Letting go!senior moments bY DeborAH WeLkY, PAge 30

on the CoverFlorida Supreme Court Justice Jorge Labarga at his home in Wellington.

PHoTo BY SuSAN LERNER

8From Cuban Immigrant to Florida’s High CourtAs a boy in Cuba, Jorge Labarga witnessed a constitu-tion trampled by a revolutionary who had promised to uphold it. Now the 84th justice of the Florida Supreme Court, he’s sworn to preserve and defend the types of laws that Fidel Castro renounced to the chagrin of sup-porters, including Labarga’s father. By chris felker

12united States remains A Land of ImmigrantsThe phrase “American Dream” resonates deeply for immigrants to the United States. Some of Palm Beach County’s successful transplants from other countries shared with Forever Young the stories of their journeys here and tell why they’re thankful to be in the land of the free. By chris felker

22New Nonprofit Aims to Help Seniors In NeedA group of community activists led by former Wel-lington Mayor Kathy Foster has formed an organiza-tion called Wellington Cares, described as a time bank where, by donating services to seniors, people can “pay it forward” and, in turn, receive help when they need it. By lauren Miró

24jordano Finds the Perfect Policy For each ClientOne of the most critical parts of planning for the future is getting comprehensive insurance that works for you. Whether it’s health, life or disability insurance, Keith Jordano of the Jordano Insurance Group knows that everyone has different needs — especially when working with older clients. By Jessica GreGoire

Forever Young ProFile

Justice Jorge Labarga: From Cuban Immigrant To Florida’s High Court

As A boy growing up in Cuba, Jorge Labarga witnessed a democratic consti-tution being trampled by a revolution-ary who had promised to uphold it.

Now, sitting as the 84th justice of the Florida supreme Court, he’s sworn to preserve and defend the types of laws that Fidel Castro renounced to the cha-grin of supporters, including Labarga’s father, Jorge sr. It’s a job he’s passion-ate about, as you might imagine.

Jorge Labarga still lives in the modest house in Wellington where he and his wife, Zulma, raised their two daughters. He makes the seven-hour drive back home from Tallahassee once every few months, whenever he can spend five days or more.

Labarga sat down for an interview the day after his 60th birthday, with a balloon still floating from his mailbox to greet party guests. Zulma’s birthday had been two days before.

Just after the last time Labarga saw his father in Cuba, in 1961, Castro’s soldiers came to their home in Melena del sur, seeking to arrest him for with-drawing his support. Cubans could still fly to the United States; Jorge Sr. had escaped days before.

“What Fidel was basically doing was imprisoning any of his prior supporters who were now not a supporter, and ex-ecuting people,” Labarga recalled.

His father had supported Castro be-cause he said he was going to reinstate the 1948 constitution. “Then he started showing his Marxist colors, so my dad had to get out of town,” Labarga said. “They came looking for him two days later and … later arrested his two best friends in town. One was executed, and the other one served 30 years in prison.”

A few months later, the Cuban Mis-sile Crisis changed everything. Labarga witnessed that from the other side of the straits of Florida as well. When

the tense events of october 1962 had passed, the U.S. had severed relations, and the route out of Cuba was no longer a 20-minute flight to Miami.

Labarga’s mother took her sons in early 1963 to Mexico City, where it took seven months to get visas to bring them all to America. The senior Labarga had settled in Pahokee and met the dispos-sessed Fanjuls, who had lost their vast sugar plantations and refineries in Cuba to the revolution and were establishing sugar mills in the Glades at the time. He’d taken a job in one of their mills.

The 11-year-old Jorge spoke no Eng-lish when he landed in Pahokee.

“I have two brothers, and when we first arrived in this country and we started going to school, my father told us: ‘I can’t give you any more than an education. … If you prove that you are honest and that you’re willing to work hard, the American people will help you,’” he related.

so Labarga entered the fourth grade. “I was the only spanish-speaking kid in the class. There was no English for foreign-speaking people then,” he re-called. “you know, children are able to absorb new languages very easily. ... I would say by fifth grade, I was already making good grades and competing in class with the other kids.”

His ethnicity actually made him popular. “I was seen as a hero because I escaped communism. Kids in my class were writing papers about me, Jorge Labarga, who just escaped com-munism. It was a different world back then. Today, immigrants are not seen in the same light. It was a different time, but we were treated so well back then, and it made me what I am today.”

In 1969, the family moved to the coast. He graduated from Forest Hill High school in 1972, went on to the University of Florida, where he earned a degree in political science in 1976 and

• Forever Young Lifestyle Magazine • November 2012

By Chris Felker | Forever young staff report

then, in 1979, he earned a law degree from UF.

Labarga met his future wife, who had just received her undergraduate degree, at a party that the law school dean threw for new graduates. Their romance blos-somed over the next year, with him spending every weekend visiting her in Miami. The couple married in 1980.

Meanwhile, Labarga, having served as an investigator for a year as a law school intern in the Palm beach County Public Defender’s Office, was hired by Public Defender Richard Jorandby, first in the appellate division, then in the felony division.

In 1982, he joined the Palm beach County state Attorney’s office and worked in every division there, trying more than 150 cases before juries over the next several years.

After he prosecuted a high-profile murder case in 1987, David Roth and Doug Duncan, who had represented the defendants, persuaded Labarga to join them at the law firm Cone, Wagner. The three later founded their own firm, Roth, Duncan & Labarga P.A., in West Palm beach.

Gov. Lawton Chiles named Labarga to a vacancy on the 15th Judicial Circuit Court bench in 1996, and he served first in the family, then later the civil and criminal divisions. At the time, he told a writer for the Palm beach County bar Association that it was not an easy decision to take the judgeship since he had a wife and two young children and would have to take a pay cut.

but once on the bench, Labarga thrived. becoming a judge enthralled him. “I think every lawyer in the world wants to be a judge,” he said. “some of them can’t ... I mean, I did have to take a big cut in my salary, but it was the greatest job in the world being a trial judge. I really could not wait to get to work every day.”

Florida Supreme Court JusticeJorge Labarga with his wife Zulma

at their home in Wellington.photo by SuSan Lerner/fyLm Staff



Forever Young ProFileIn 2008, Labarga’s life took a scary

turn when a stubborn, discolored bump under one fingernail drove him to a der-matologist, who found melanoma and sent him to an oncologist. Part of the finger was removed, and he underwent chemotherapy.

Around the same time, openings arose on the Fourth District Court of Appeal in West Palm beach and on the Florida supreme Court. Labarga applied for both, and was called to interview with Gov. Charlie Crist’s staff.

He received the appointment to the Fourth District Court that December, amid chemo treatments. Then, during his annual tradition of buying lunch for all the public defenders and state attorneys, he got another call from the governor’s office, telling him to be in Tallahassee for a Christmas Eve inter-view for the high court.

“When I went, I had just completed the 20 shots of chemo and I was a walk-ing corpse,” Labarga said. “I had not eaten in two or three days, and my wife had to drive me everywhere because I

did not have the strength. My adrenalin must have kicked in, because I have very vague memories of that whole thing.”

on New year’s Day, Gov. Crist called him to spring the news that he’d be wearing a yellow tie he’d just received for Christmas to Labarga’s robing ceremony. “I said, ‘Governor, I wasn’t going to have one down here for the Fourth District … everybody knows me here.’ And Crist said, ‘No, I mean for the supreme Court!’ I said, ‘Come again?!’”

Now, even at the highest level of Flor-ida’s judicial system, where he works year-round laboring with the other six justices under a huge workload, he still has that same grateful mind-set.

“The supreme Court job is a tough job, but I think it’s probably the best job I’ve ever had, even better than trial judge, as much as I loved it,” Labarga said.

Even at 75 to 80 hours a week? “oh, I’m used to hard work. I don’t mind working long hours. I love the law, and

I love working with the law,” he said. “And I think in many respects, it is me paying back for the great debt that I owe the American people for the breaks that I got. I think upholding our consti-tutional values is what preserves this country, and I think that’s my job.”

Labarga is grateful to be in a great occupation in a great country, and traces it all back to what his father told him. “I think I’ve worked hard, and I like to think I’m honest, and I think I’ve pretty much succeeded, so his theory is true,” he said. “but it is the American people who will continue to make this country thrive.

The United States is the greatest country in the world, he said, stressing that it’s the people, not the location.

“There are many places around the world with beautiful landscapes, and forests, and oil, and all these things, but they just don’t have the democracy we have.” Labarga said. “It is the American spirit, and the American people, who have built this country. I’m a firm be-liever in the American people.” FY

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Forever Young Feature

The United States: Land Of ImmigrantsAnd Home To Many Success Stories

The United States of America is a land of immigrants, by immigrants and for immigrants. It was born of im-migrants centuries ago. Many would assert that today’s America was built by immigrants. And America certainly is a place for immigrants, because foreign-ers have always flocked to our shores in a trend that’s never abated.

The “American Dream” for those born here has been described as a desire to pass on a better world to our children.

For recent immigrants to the U.S., though, the phrase “American Dream” resonates deeper. It’s about leaving one’s homeland for freer shores, due to necessity or for simple survival.

Here are some of your neighbors’ stories about their thanksgivings for their own journeys here.

FIDEL ALVAREZFidel Alvarez didn’t really have a spe-

cific dream when, at 14, he crossed the


By Chris Felker | Forever young staff report

California border and entered the U.S., emigrating from El Salvador. Aided by his father who had fled to New Jersey, Alvarez was escaping the crossfire of the wars of the 1980s. Now 42, he has spent most of his life here.

The U.S.-backed Salvadoran govern-ment was trying to avoid a communist takeover, such as the Sandinista revolu-tion that ensnared Nicaragua. “It was 1984. There’s a big war going in El Salvador,” Alverez recalled. “You see bombings, shootings, people killing, dead on the streets, and just it was a really, really horrible, terrifying period. A lot of people don’t understand that those little wars were because of the Cold War.”

El Salvador was caught in the middle. “A little country like El Salvador had nothing to do with it. But the Cubans and Nicaraguans went in there, planted the seeds, started talking to people and now these people get involved with guerrillas,” Alvarez remembered.

He’d been living with his grand-mother because his father and mother divorced when he was small. He and his two little brothers, now 40 and 38, stayed in California for a time.

When they arrived in New Jersey, Al-varez’s father insisted he go to school. But he put it off, intimidated because he spoke no English, instead picking up some of the language through a restaurant dishwashing job. “Then I felt more confident, and I decided to go to school,” he said.

Alvarez graduated from Fort Lee High School in 1990, after his father had returned to El Salvador. Alvarez glided through unnoticed, because he had to support himself and worked con-stantly when not studying. A counselor suggested studying hotel/restaurant

(Left) Fidel Alvarez at the main counter inside Centanni’s, his restaurant.photo by Chris Felker/Fylm staFF


(Above) Gabriel Finocchietti by a fountain outside his al fresco dining area.photo by Chris Felker/Fylm staFF

management, and he ended up earning an associate’s degree.

The whole time, he couldn’t drive. “I had the money to buy a car, and I couldn’t buy it because I couldn’t get a license,” Alvarez said. “If you don’t have papers, you can’t get a license.”

But his mother had settled in Califor-nia and was baby-sitting for a doctor. The doctor sponsored her for a green card, and she applied for her three sons.

“It took about five years. Then you have to wait five years to apply for citizenship, which I did,” said Alvarez, who has voted in every national election since 1996. “It’s nice being able to vote and express your opinion of what you believe. I think it’s great. I think I’m liv-ing the American Dream. It hasn’t been easy, but as an immigrant, you come here hungry ... and you set goals to go to the next level, which is basically what I did. First I did my high school, then I went on to college, then I said I want to own my own business.”

Today, Alvarez owns Centanni Res-taurant in Royal Palm Beach. “And I feel like I’m really, really living the American Dream. And I’m thankful for that. I think things are a little better than they were in El Salvador, but still it’s not very good there,” he said.

He and wife Olga, a Costa Rican, have been married for 18 years and have three sons — Danny, 16; Eric, 14; and Chris, 12.

Alvarez thinks it’s unfortunate that action in Congress on immigration re-form has been stymied by politics. But he notes that 12 million or so illegal immigrants remain here. “And what are we going to do with them?” he said. “I have no sympathy for troublemakers, but those people who want to come here and work, I think they should have a way.”

GABRIEL FINOCCHIETTIOwner of Gabriel’s Cafe & Grille in

Wellington since 1990, Gabriel Finoc-chietti, 56, left his native Italy as a teen after graduating from hotel school and lived and worked in Bermuda for 13 years before coming to the U.S. in the early 1980s. He had met a woman

named Fran, from Boston, aboard a cruise and eventually married her. They had a son, Gabriel Jr., now 31, who was 2 when they left Bermuda.

“Bermuda is where my hotel school graduation brought me from Italy. The hotel school where I went in Italy, there was pretty much a competition, the best from the school were getting the best job, and the best jobs were in Bermuda,” he recalled.

Finocchietti grew up outside Rome, getting his basic education there. He left at age 18 with several classmates.

“When you want to achieve some-thing in life, you have to do something about it,” he said. “Our contract for Bermuda was to be waiters, but because we didn’t know the language, they put

us as a busboy. And I was the first of the five of us to learn English and become a waiter.”

Finocchietti decided early on that he was going to go out and meet lo-cal girls to help him learn rather than hang around with his friends, who were happy speaking Italian. He trained as a captain and mâitre d’ while his friends eventually scattered.

Married 17 years to Fran, they also had a daughter, Lisa, now 24. He has since remarried, and wife Darlene works with him at his cafe.

Finocchietti still has a green card and is planning to become a citizen one day but is not very interested in politics, so he hasn’t made it a priority. Yet he’s very thankful to be in America.


Forever Young Feature“I pretty much followed a friend of

mine when he moved to Boston from Bermuda, and then he moved to Singer Island, so we decided to come down and visit him, and I’m reading the Palm Beach Post, and there was an advertise-ment about Wellington, ‘the best place to raise a family,’ and ... six months later I was living in Wellington.”

That was 1987. He worked as an assistant mâitre d’ at The Breakers for three years before deciding to strike out on his own. “I think people are more open in this country, [and] it’s a country of opportunity. If you’re willing to sac-rifice and work hard, you’re going to get well-compensated,” Finocchietti said. “I don’t think I’d ever be able to work for anybody else. I do it the best way you can do it because I enjoy doing it. And being also in the community here, the small community it was at one time, you get better recognition, you get bet-ter support from your local people.”

Finocchietti misses Wellington’s early days, noting that there is far more competition now. “But still, we have our

own clientele here. My son’s friends, now they start coming to the restau-rant with their own children,” he said. “So we’re already going to the second generation here. And that’s what makes this business — the people who come in and who have been coming for two generations. I have pleasure to come to work every day.”

Finocchietti is a true Italian who loves to cook (he fills in whenever his chef is out), and he also gardens and grows herbs. “Sometimes people ask, ‘Do you ever go back to Italy?’ Uh, vacation-ing, definitely many, many times, but I don’t think I could go back there to live. Society is way different. I don’t know if I could fit in. Here, I know the system.”

AMIT PATELAmit Patel, 47, came here from India;

he’s originally from Ahmedabad, in the Indian state of Gujarat. He emigrated to join his mother and brother in the U.S. in 1986. “My brother sponsored me,” he said.

Originally here on a family visa, Patel decided to stay and make a better life. He spoke very little English at the time but was about to get a crash course. He started working at Star Liquor in Wel-lington, which his older brother, Suman, an electrical engineer who worked for a large corporation, had just opened in 1987.

“He got the license in a lottery. So I was working in the liquor store with my sister-in-law and my brother who owned the store, and he wouldn’t let me speak in any language other than English,” Patel said.

That was the same year Amit married his wife Pritika, who’s from Fiji. Hav-ing immigrated to the United States on a green card basis due to his family, Patel became a U.S. citizen in 1994. “I have no intention of going back,” he said when asked why he decided to become an American. But he also wanted to vote, which he has done faithfully since becoming a citizen.

Patel remains grateful for his life in the U.S. “I worked for my brother until

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1990, then I left and opened my own convenience store and liquor store, and then he decided to sell this one in 1996, and he asked me first. So I took over.”

He’s very happy he decided to buy the store, and business is excellent, he said. “Wellington is a great place. In a month or so, we are buying another liquor store,” Patel said.

Amit and wife Pritika are proud of their two sons, both products of Wel-lington schools. Dhruv, who will soon be 21, is in his senior year at the Univer-sity of Florida, studying biology. And Akash, 19, is attending the University of South Florida and majoring in com-puter science.

Patel said that nothing in particular drove him to come here, except that his brother invited him. “We had a family business. I had a nice life there, too. Ini-tially I didn’t want to come. But once I came and I see what kind of life he had, I just wanted to stay,” he said.

And as he approaches his 25th an-niversary of being in the U.S. and his marriage, he’s thankful he did. FY


(Above) Amit and Pritika Patel, outside the front of their store in Wellington.photo by Chris Felker/Fylm staFF


Alec Pridgeon Recalls His Time With Shark Experts Ron And Valerie Taylor

With turquoise blue Water crashing against the boat, the warm south australian sun beaming down on their faces and their adrenaline pumping ever stronger, the divers search for one of the most terrifying creatures in the world, the great white shark.

these are some of the memories alec Pridgeon fondly remembers from his diving expedition with ron and Valerie taylor, best known around the world for their footage of great white sharks that was used in director steven spielberg’s first hit film, Jaws.

the intensity of it all is what intrigued Pridgeon, an orchid scientist who spe-cializes in molecular phylogenetics and

the systematics of orchids, inspiring him to join the expedition in search of the mighty great white. “ron is a really great diving buddy,” Pridgeon said. “he is really calm under pressure.”

Valerie is more excitable than ron — “although she was also really cool under pressure as well,” Pridgeon added.

Pridgeon, who has a doctoral degree, travels around the world doing research and was hired to work in england as a sainsbury orchid Fellow at the royal botanic Gardens at Kew. While work-ing in australia, he got the opportunity to dive with the dynamic team of shark explorers.

“i got an e-mail from someone, i don’t


By Jessica GreGoire | Forever young staff report

even remember who, but he said he was going out to look for great whites and he also invited ron and Valerie taylor,” Pridgeon said. “so i met them for the first time on board that boat, and it was strange because the captain of the ship looked very much like quint, the captain in Jaws. i’ve been friends with them ever since then.”

although that experience happened in 1993, it has become even more significant to Pridgeon, a Wellington resident, as he mourns the passing of taylor, who lost his battle with myeloid leukemia sept. 9.

“that trip was unsuccessful because we saw no great whites,” he said. “then three years later, we all took another big trip with a much more professional crew, but once again we saw no great whites. so until this day i have never seen a great white in the flesh.”

taylor, who is survived by his wife, Valerie, had always had a passion for the ocean and marine life. he’d begun diving at the age of 14 and started his career in the 1950s, making underwater housings for his movie cameras.

taylor met Valerie at the heron Dive Festival. she was the winner of the Miss heron island competition, and ron asked her to model underwater while he filmed her, and they married soon after in 1963. “they were married for almost 50 years, and worked very well with each other,” Pridgeon said.

in 1996, on Pridgeon’s last diving trip with the taylors, he interviewed them for a story that he wrote for Dive International magazine. Many of their memorable stories were shared with Pridgeon.

“there was one about when he was

(Left)Wellington resident Alec Pridgeonis mourning the loss of his friend,

noted shark expert Ron Taylor.photo by Jessica GreGoire/fylm staff


(Above)Shark hunters in a March 1993 phototaken in Port Lincoln, South Australia.

Ron and Valerie Taylor are at the far left; Alec Pridgeon is second from right.

The shark cage is in the background.(Right)

Valerie Taylor looks out to sea after chumming with smelly mackerel and squid. Her right foot is resting on the chum barrel. The shark cage is to the

right in this photo from February 1996.photos courtesy alec pridGeon


Forever Young Featuretrying to film some footage for Blue Water White Death: The Search for the Great White Shark,” he said. “they went all around the world looking for great whites and they were unsuccessful until they went to australia and got to Dangerous reef out of Port lincoln.”

that is where they got the best images for the movie, where he partnered with diver and cameraman Peter Gimbel and others. “Ron was the first to get video of great whites ever,” Pridgeon said. “Because of that film, which was the second most popular film of that year [after] Love Story in the box office, they earned worldwide fame.”

The popularity of the film attracted spielberg, who asked taylor to pro-vide some footage of great whites for his movie Jaws, which was based on the book by Peter benchley. “Valerie went with him, and they went out to Dangerous reef again,” Pridgeon said. “but they had a problem because the

mechanical shark for the movie was 26 feet long, but the real sharks were only about 14 feet.”

the solution was to make the live sharks look bigger to match the me-chanical shark. “they got a small cage with a small person named Carl rizzo, who told spielberg he was an expert diver and had dealt with sharks before,” Pridgeon said. “he was hired and was only 4-foot-9. they went out on the boat, and the cage was ready.”

they then spotted a shark coming to-ward the cage. ”at that point, rizzo was toward the back of the boat,” Pridgeon said. “and the shark took the cage and just rattled it back and forth and almost carried it out to sea.”

that completely startled rizzo. “he left the boat, locked himself in the bath-room and wouldn’t come out,” Pridgeon said. “and he later confessed that he was not an experienced diver.”

in their later years, after their exten-sive movie career success, ron and Val-erie became known as the pioneers of (Left) Ron Taylor in his camouflage

wetsuit, back in February 1996.photo courtesy alec pridGeon



FY

marine cinematography, photography and conservation due to their continu-ous efforts to raise awareness of great white sharks through film. They also developed and introduced the chain-mail suit that divers wear.

“there was one story in National Geographic that they did, where they shared how Valerie was slightly injured because at that time they had learned that the gloves had to be sewn into the suit,” Pridgeon said. “a blue shark had came along and ripped the glove off, exposing her hand, so she was bleeding pretty badly there.”

that experience helped them learn that the gloves for the chain-mail suit had to be sewn on in order to reduce the dangers of being bitten. “they developed a lot of things,” Pridgeon said. “after Jaws, they began working on chemical shark repellents, and spent much of their years working on that even after my interview with them.”

the taylors were recognized for their work in 2003 by being awarded one of the highest honors in their homeland,

the order of australia. “toward the end of their careers, their only interest was in saving sharks,” Pridgeon said. “they went on a worldwide campaign just to do that.”

because of their effort, great whites are now protected in australia, south africa and the united states. “if it hadn’t been for Jaws, they wouldn’t have been involved in that amount of conservation,” Pridgeon said. “they used their popularity and visibility to

work toward shark conservation be-cause they felt really badly about what happened to great whites after Jaws, and felt like it was their fault.”

ron and Valerie taylor believed that due to the movie, people were afraid to go in the water and many great whites were hunted. “they felt really badly for that,” Pridgeon said. “that’s why they dedicated the rest of their lives to that cause, and that’s what ron really wanted to be remembered for.”

An Australian sea lionin seaweed off HopkinsIsland, South Australia.

photo courtesy alec pridGeon


Newly Created Nonprofit Aims ToHelp Wellington Seniors In Need

Wellington seniors in need of a helping hand have an opportunity to get temporary assistance and pay it forward to other seniors through the new non-profit organization Wellington Cares.

Former Wellington Mayor Kathy Fos-ter created the organization in an effort to bring the community together to help Wellington’s aging population.

“i’ve been made aware of the many challenges that face elderly people in the last third of their lives,” she said. “I became more and more aware of senior issues and the lack of choices, in many cases, that our seniors have.”

Foster said that although most older residents would prefer to stay in their homes, temporary setbacks — such as even minor health issues — can require a little extra care that makes it impossible for them to continue living at home.

“in most cases, the decision to leave your home is made by circumstances, not by choice,” she said. “What happens is if a senior has a short-term problem, something that disables them from main-taining their daily lifestyle for a period of time, they may have no recourse but to move to an assisted-living facility.”

often this decision is made by out-of-town family members who seek to make sure the senior is well cared for.

the question of how to help people confronting the health problems of advanced age has been a much-debated issue, Foster said. Though Wellington has several programs to aid seniors, she said that they are limited in what they can do to help.

“they do a great job providing activi-ties and socialization for our seniors,”

she said. “Wellington Cares will hope-fully work as a supplement to what the village is doing.”

on a national level, the country is anticipating the retirement of the Baby Boomer generation.

“We do not have the resources on a na-tional level to handle the entire 65-and-older community in the government or in private facilities,” Foster said. “How are we going to address the needs of this population?”

As an answer to this question, Foster said many communities have come together in what they call a naturally occurring retirement community, where seniors and other family and friends join in helping other seniors.

it is by this model that Foster estab-lished Wellington Cares, led by a board of local community activists. “What we are doing is offering short-term, interim services to enable seniors to age in place,” she said. “We will go in and initially provide a limited range of services such as light housekeeping, laundry, driving seniors to the doctor’s office, taking them grocery shopping or picking up prescriptions, so they can maintain their independence until their short-term problem is alleviated.”

The organization is based on recipro-cal volunteering.

“It is a time bank,” Foster said. “No one pays anything. We will ask the people who benefit from our services to pay it forward when they feel up to it. even if they are housebound, they can make a hospitality call to someone else who is housebound.”

Foster said she hopes younger seniors


By Lauren Miró | Forever young Staff report

who are still independent will volunteer to help, building up time for when they face similar situations.

“Hopefully, through Wellington Cares, younger and healthy seniors can provide services to those who are not as fit and need help,” she said. “And then, by bank-ing service hours, should they have an emergency down the road, they would have created a reserve bank of time for people to provide them or someone they love with services.”

But it’s not just seniors helping seniors — anyone can volunteer to help and build up time for a loved one who may need assistance.

“Anyone can volunteer to help,” Fos-ter said. “Say you’re a 40-something working person, but your mother is a senior. Maybe you can’t take off from work to take them to the doctor’s office. Well, we’ll be glad to drive your parent to the doctor and stay with them, if they need someone to take notes. Then, per-haps on a weekend, you could provide service hours in exchange to someone who needs laundry or light housekeep-ing done.”

it is through this “pay it forward” mentality that Wellington Cares hopes to create a tight-knit community that helps each other.

“no one is perceived as just a recipi-ent,” Foster said. “We’re asking every-one to get involved. There’s a job for everyone. There is a way to reach out, no matter what your skill capacity is.”

The organization will also partner with doctor’s offices, churches, homeowners’ associations and other facilities that can identify seniors in need.

Communities have come together in what is called a naturally occurring retirement community, where seniors and other family and friends join in helping other seniors. ‘We are offering short-term, interim services to enable seniors to age in place,’ Kathy Foster said. ‘We’ll go in and initially provide a limited range of services such as light housekeeping, laundry, driving seniors to the doctor’s office, taking them grocery shopping or picking up prescriptions, so they can maintain their independence.’


Wellington Cares Executive Director Kathy Foster (center) with board members Cheryl Anders and Marion Frank.photo by Lauren Miró/FyLM staFF

“the premise is building commu-nity,” Foster said. “Hopefully, through networking, we will be able to identify individuals who, with the exception of this short-term situation, could stay in their homes and maintain their life-styles.”

Wellington Cares is looking now to identify those seniors in need in order to begin providing services in November. those who are interested in assisting should call Foster at (561) 568-8818.

The organization also is looking for sponsors to help cover costs. Foster

said that although the organization is volunteer-driven, it will have to pay for insurance.

“We have insurance costs so that anyone who volunteers is protected by a blanket policy,” she said. “We are also looking to provide welcome baskets to everyone we visit for the first time. In those baskets will be information from our sponsors.”

Recently, VITAS Innovative Hospice Care kicked off donations with $10,000 for the organization.

“For anyone who cares about seniors,

who cares about aging in place, this is an organization that can help,” Foster said.

she hopes the community will rally around the cause and come out to help seniors.

“We hope Wellington Cares can re-kindle that neighborhood spirit where we reach out one-on-one to help others who need it in order to improve their quality of life, and enable them to maintain their independence,” she said.

For more information, call Foster at (561) 568-8818. FY


Keith Jordano Specializes In FindingThe Perfect Policy For Each Client

One Of the mOst critical parts of planning for the future is getting comprehensive insurance that works for you. Whether it’s health, life or dis-ability insurance, the Jordano insurance Group provides all forms.

Owner and founder Keith Jordano started his business in 1993 in new Orleans. he moved to florida in 1996, where he expanded Jordano insurance Group to include offices from West Palm Beach to Pembroke Pines and more than 10 experienced agents.

Jordano began his insurance career after graduating from loyola University in louisiana. “When i graduated, i did government contracting for a while,” he recalled. “i decided to move on when an opportunity came up, where i was granted a career with metlife.”

Working at metlife provided Jordano with the knowledge he needed about the insurance industry. he learned how to sell life, health, disability, auto and home insurance, as well as annuities. set with that expertise, he took another job working for an individual handling many national accounts. “i worked with that gentleman for close to nine years,” Jordano said.

through that company, Jordano was introduced to the field of work-site marketing, enabling him to travel around the country. “i got to meet a lot of interesting people,” he said.

in that job, Jordano signed up em-ployees for companies ranging from waste management firms in Texas to hospitals throughout the southeast.

“i’ve dealt with everyone from the owners of a business to the entry-level employees,” he said.

Jordano is a longtime supporter of the central Palm Beach county chamber of commerce, recently being a trustee member. through the Jordano insur-ance Group, he also works for colonial life insurance, where he recently was promoted to district manager.

“my territory is pretty much all over the state,” he said. “it’s a very presti-gious insurance provider, and i’m proud to be representing them.”

When selling insurance to older cli-ents, Jordano understands that everyone has different needs. “One size does not fit all. That’s the danger of buying on the internet,” he said. “We really need to listen to what a person has and needs.”

for Jordano, this is the key to provid-ing the right insurance plan. “We don’t want to squeeze everything out of their paycheck,” he said. “The first thing we start with, which is what i usually tell people during a presentation, is health insurance.”

after that is paid for, then comes dis-ability insurance. “Because once you get sick and can’t work, who is going to pay your health insurance, your house note, rent, car insurance, electricity, and put food on the table?” Jordano said.

The third most important benefit, ac-cording to Jordano, is your paycheck. “You have to make sure you have enough money to pay what you have to pay,” he said. “after all that money


By Jessica GreGoire | Forever young staff report

is set aside, then you can worry about all the other supplemental insurances, such as life insurance.”

supplemental insurances are im-portant for individuals. for someone with a family, life insurance is more of a necessity than for a single person without children.

“life insurance is for the family,” Jordano said, explaining that the money from the policy will provide for the family should the beneficial die.

at the Jordano insurance Group, the most important principle is to sell the right product to the right person. “You don’t want to sell a product to someone who doesn’t need it,” he said. “that’s like stealing.”

Jordano’s firm makes it easy for seniors, especially those who are not mobile, to learn about various insur-ance products and plans. “People can either come to our office or I meet them wherever it’s appropriate, whether it’s their house or a local establishment where they feel comfortable talking,” Jordano said.

since much of the Jordano insur-ance Group’s business comes through networking, many clients call in asking for help. “they already know what they are looking for,” Jordano said. “We just have to listen.”

Jordano typically looks over a client’s current policy, if the person has one, and determines whether it’s worth keeping or should be changed. “i don’t mind sit-ting down and looking over someone’s policy and saying, ‘You know, this is

With an abundance of insurance policies out there, Jordano explains to clients the variationsbetween each type, such as term vs. a cash-value life policy. ‘It’s all about sitting back and seeing

what the person already has,’ he said. ‘If someone has had a policy for a long time, you have to look at the type of policy to see if it has value in it.’ When working with seniors and their health insurance, he tries to determine whether they favor a particular doctor. ‘Certain doctors may not be available,’

Jordano said. ‘That’s one of the more important things for seniors when choosing health insurance.’


Keith Jordano, owner of the Jordano Insurance Group.phoTo by JessICa GreGoIre/fylm sTaff


Forever Young Featurea good policy. Don’t do anything with it,’” he said.

his main concern when meeting with a new client is making sure the policy is affordable to them. “the number one thing on my mind when working out a plan is what you can afford versus which one you need,” he said.

Jordano has a knack for working out a plan that fits the client’s budget while capturing the most important coverages. “We work it to the middle, where they can get some benefits and they can also afford it,” he said.

With an abundance of insurance policies out there, Jordano explains to clients the variations between each type, such as term vs. a cash-value life policy.

“it’s all about sitting back and seeing what the person already has,” he said. “if someone has had a policy for a long time, you have to look at the type of policy to see if it has value in it.”

When working with seniors and their health insurance, the Jordano insurance Group tries to determine whether they

favor a particular doctor. “Depending on the network the insurance company has, certain doctors may not be avail-able,” he said. “that’s one of the more important things for seniors when choosing health insurance.”

Jordano then determines what each policy pays. “some pay most things, some pay a little more and some a little less,” he said. “You really need to sit down and see what policy is the best fit.”

Jordano understands the system and knows how to arrange polices for seniors.

“that’s what is also good about hav-ing an agency like ours that carries multiple plans,” he said. “You’re not locked into one plan like aarP or Blue cross/Blue shield. We have it all, and it’s up to the client to choose what’s best for them.”

the Jordano insurance Group also has a team of experts for various insur-ance areas. “We have an individual who specializes in long-term care plans, and he actually teaches other agents who

need continuing education credits,” Jordano said.

the group also includes agents who speak various languages, including spanish and creole. “We even have a guy who speaks italian,” Jordano said. “Because even if people speak english, but that isn’t their first language, they tend to feel more comfortable speaking in the language they know the best.”

Working with an independent agent such as the Jordano insurance Group gives people more options, he said. “We are not limited, and it makes it easier for us to come up with a good plan,” he said.

Jordano is also an advocate for healthcare reform, and has been up to tallahassee and Washington, D.c., to see how things are being changed in the healthcare industry. “i’ve worked hand-in-hand to make sure that people are being protected,” he said.

For more information about the Jordano Group Insurance Group, visit www.jordanogroup.com or call (561) 333-6228. FY

MeMory Lane by Joe Nasuti

The Holiday Season In My FamilyRemains A Time Of Traditions

Joe Nasuti is an entertain-ment columnist for the Town-Crier newspaper. His monthly Memory Lane columns feature memories from bygone days.

FY

Thanksgiving holiday TradiTion is commonly traced to a 1621 celebration at Plymouth, in what is now Massachusetts. The 1621 Plymouth feast and thanksgiving were prompted by a good harvest. The Pilgrims and Puri-tans who began emigrating from England in the 1620s and 1630s carried the tradition of days of Fasting and days of Thanksgiving.

george Washington proclaimed the first nationwide Thanksgiving celebration in america, marking nov. 26, 1789, “as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of almighty god.”

Thanksgiving in the United states was observed on various dates throughout history. it was not until dec. 26, 1941, that the unified date changed to the fourth Thursday in November — this time by federal legislation making Thanksgiving a national holiday on that day each year to follow.

Thanksgiving was always a very special holiday for me growing up and still is. since my birthday is nov. 28, we usually celebrated it on Thanksgiving with our entire fam-ily. Presents included grandmom’s ugly shirt, which i had to wear every time i visited … “Joey, where did you get that nice shirt?” … “you gave it to me, grandmom!” … “you look good in it, Joey!”

dinner was at my aunt dorothy’s. she made the best lasa-gna and turkey and pies and fixings. More often than not, it would be snowing, so my cousins and i would go sledding and have a world-class snowball fight. There was nothing like getting frozen to the bone back then ... now, i prefer getting tanned to the bone!

Funny how my family took turns on holiday dinners, aunt dot’s on Thanksgiving, aunt angie’s for Easter and Christ-mas Eve, Mom’s for Christmas day and our house again for new year’s Eve. Come to think about it, my kids do the same … Thanksgiving at Christina’s, Easter at Tom and libby’s, Christmas at Jackie’s — but new year’s Eve is my gig!

as we enter the holiday season, i can think back and re-member the quality times i spent with my family — aunts, uncles, cousins — and later with my wife and our children. so, i guess starting with Thanksgiving is the perfect way to kickoff the holiday season.

at this time, i would like to wish each and every one of you a very happy Thanksgiving. i hope you will enjoy being with your family and friends to celebrate the 391st Thanks-giving in america!

That’s it for this month’s stroll down Memory lane. i hope i jogged your memory and brought a smile to your face.

Until next time, remem-ber: We can’t help growing older, but we don’t have to grow up … so stay Forever young.


My family took turns on holiday dinners, aunt Dot’s on thanksgiving, aunt angie’s for easter and Christmas eve, Mom’s for Christmas Day and our

house again for New year’s eve. Come to think about it, my kids do the same … thanksgiving at Christina’s, easter at tom and Libby’s, Christmas

at Jackie’s — but New year’s eve is my gig!

Senior MoMentS by Deborah Welky

If You’re Planning To Die On My Watch, Forget About It — I’m Not Letting Go!

Deborah Welky’s humor column The Sonic Boomer is published weekly in the Town-Crier. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TheSonicBoomer and visit The Sonic Boomer page on Facebook. FY

NoTwiThsTaNdiNg all The viTamiNs we’ve taken, the good deeds we’ve done and the great times we’ve had, i know that once people get older, they traditionally die.

i’m counting on my family and friends to break that tradition. i simply cannot imagine life without them.

of course, sometimes you get so sick you want to die, but if you’re loved by me, too bad. i will hook you up to any life-sustaining machine that won a science Fair award if its preteen dr. Frankenstein inventor swears it works.

and if you slip into a coma, you’d better have a living will or nobody pulls the plug on my watch. You can be lying there, a mere shell of your former self, and it will take a team of lawyers to drag me from that wall outlet. i won’t care that, from your comatose state, you are imploring me to let you go. No.

i won’t care that most of you al-ready resides in the great Beyond, with all the relatives who prede-ceased you playing tug-o’-war to drag you through. No.

i won’t care that 99 percent of you has already reunited with your childhood dog and the first boy/girlfriend you ever had. No.

Try to see it my way. what if the american medical association comes up with a cure for whatever you’ve got 10 minutes after you’re gone? i’d hate to be the one respon-sible for letting you go.

Besides, we need all the good ones here on earth.

if i’m one of the ones who ends up living to a ripe old age, i don’t want to be stuck down here with a bunch of baddies.

i’m sick of all these drug kingpins and child molesters and animal torturers sitting around in prison watching Tv on my dime.

if they’re repeat offenders and the dNa matches, give them 10 years in jail to try to come up with some ridiculous “i-ate-too-much-licorice-as-a-child” appeal, and if the judge doesn’t buy it, well, bub-bye. Free airfare to any country that will take them or, better yet, ejector seats activated right over the middle of the atlantic ocean (parachutes not in the budget, sorry).

Then we’ll take all the money we’ve saved by not feeding these career criminals for 30 or 40 years (apiece!) and put it toward medi-cal research. we’ll have billions — trillions, if we tear down the undercrowded jails and retrain the staff.

Year #1: cure for cancer.

Year #2: cure for diabetes.

Year #3: cure for (insert your most dreaded disease here).

etc., etc., until we’re up to Year #186: cure for hiccups.

my re-prioritization would address the fact that a good person deserves a long, healthy life and that the upkeep for a bad person is simply too expensive, you know, in the scheme of things.

maybe, together with the medical breakthrough that will save their life, i’ll get each good person a puppy.

Yeah, that’s it.

in the meantime, until these initiatives take effect, i’m going to do my darnedest to keep the good ones among us.

You can help me out here. do your part. Take your vita-mins.


Try to see it my way. What if the american Medical association comes

up with a cure for whatever you’vegot 10 minutes after you’re gone?

I’d hate to be the one responsible for letting you go. besides, we needall the good ones here on earth.

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November 2012 Forever Young Lifestyle Magazine

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