Michelle Nemitz

We have all heard the catch phrase that "children are our future". I am, without a doubt, a believer. It is true that as parents, grandparents, or caregivers, that we hold in our hands (and our hearts)these precious little pieces of the future. As in the song "The Greatest Love of All" the line that reads..."teach them well and let them lead the way..." reminds me that what we provide for them today will be what they will have to build upon tomorrow.

With that said, it makes me wonder what the future holds for today's children. Positive influences will certainly benefit their future; but what opportunities are available for them in order for them to succeed?

In St. Lucie County one of the most positive influences that I am aware of is the Boys & Girls Club of St. Lucie County. As the "positive place for kids" the Boys & Girls club is one of the largest non-profit agencies that offers the children in this community a "positive" place to go after school. St. Lucie County is one of a handful of communities that offers school-based programs under the Boys & Girls club brand. Parents tell me all of the time what a blessing it is to have the Boys & Girls Club at the school their child attends.

As a realtor, and a parent, I know how important something as small as quality childcare can be. If I had a dime for everytime a client asked me what sort of after school programs are available in the St. Lucie County area, I would have a lot of dimes.

If you need more information on the Boys & Girls Club of St. Lucie County, please click the link below

www.bgcofslc.org

St. Lucie County and the Treasure Coast have many other positive attributes. There is so much to see and do here, that it would take me a week to list it all. I have seen our population increase over the years and I believe it is because this is just one of those really nice places to live. We enjoy year-round sun, beautiful beaches, gentle ocean breezes...the list just goes on and on..

As many of you may already know, HGTV has designated Port St. Lucie as this year’s location for the HGTV Green Home. I am curious to know if anyone has seen this house yet. I go out to Tradition on a weekly basis, and I still have no idea where it is. (Could it be so “green” that it is camouflaged so that NO ONE can see it? Seriously, though, I haven’t really looked for it, so actually it is my own fault for not finding it).

Rumor has it that the home will be green from top to bottom; grass included (no pun intended). I have been checking out one of the many blogs on HGTV regarding the green home, and from what I have read the grass will be synthetic. I am wondering why synthetic grass. Why not plant the real thing. It makes more sense to me. However, with the whole Reduce, Reuse, Recycle campaign, I can understand why they would use fake as opposed to the real thing. I suppose that the winner could always replace the grass if they wanted to. I hope that they will send it my way; I really dislike doing yard work!

I am very excited that our fair city is gaining national (and worldwide) exposure through the publicity that HGTV is giving us with this grand gesture. Millions of people around the world will have the chance to win this home, but only one family will get to call it their own. I know that the winner, whether a local or someone from another state, will be glad to call Port St. Lucie their home. I hope that those who don’t make the final cut don’t go away, green with envy.

When my family moved here 30 plus years ago, my brother and I thought that we were moving to "Disneyland". My mother said we were moving to Florida, and the only thing that I knew about Florida was "Disneyland", so I figured that we were moving there. Who knew that we would pass up the mouse and end up on the beautiful Treasure Coast.

Of course, many years later I learned that "Disneyland" was in California, and our Florida park(s) are known as "Disney World". And like many other local residents, over the years I have made my annual (and sometimes semi-annual) trips to pay homage to the mouse.

Now, that I am older (and poorer, because it costs a mortgage payment to get inside the gates), I don't go up to see Mickey as often as I would like. I still adore him and his entourage, and I look forward to getting back up that way to pay another visit sometime this year.

For now I will just have to enjoy what the Treasure Coast has to offer (the weather here is GORGEOUS). It's January and the temperature outside (at 4pm) is around 79 degrees. The sun is out and it is absolutely beautiful. I haven't seen such mild temps in January for several years. It's nice...kind of like Spring.

My youngest son and I enjoyed lunch today in Tradition, which is the local "planned community" here in Port Saint Lucie. Each time I go out there, I notice a little more progress being made to a "phantom" building on the south side of Gatlin Blvd. west of I-95. Some have speculated that it is a new hospital (whice we desperately need), and since the construction has been going on for a few years, I think that they may be right. There isn't a visible sign though, so I can't say that it is definitely a hospital. It may be a school, there's no telling. The mall that is being built just to the south, and west of Becker Road, was rumored to be a Mall of America. That would have been great for us to bring in more tourism. I wish that rumor had been true. But, the fact that we will have a new mall in the next few years is great news for those of us that reside on the western side of the county.

Port Saint Lucie is still growing, and there is an abundance of undeveloped land west of I-95. I am sure that the city has dozens of plans for the development of this land, but as a resident that has lived here for more than 15 years, it would be nice to see something built that would be more family friendly. Something that would bring visitors to our area in record numbers. Something that would give our local economy that boost that it needs. I have an idea.... Why not invite the execs from the Disney Corporation down here to take a look at some of this empty acreage. Who knows, with a little "Disney magic" we could have a theme park right here in our own back yard. It could have a pirate theme and maybe be named Disney's Treasure Island (see the theme here...pirates...treasure...Treasure Coast...??). Even a water park would fit the bill for a theme like this. Think of the money something like that could generate here. Everyone loves Disney, and pirates. Bring them to the "treasure" coast, and viola...Disney magic. Can anyone say Cha Ching??? I just bring the ideas...someone else has to bring the money.

Maybe that's wishful thinking on my part. It would be nice though, having the whole Disney experience here in Port Saint Lucie. Then maybe I could say after 30 years that yes, I do live in "Disney World".

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