Hello Fellow Gators!

Thank you to everyone who voted in our election last week. We were able to achieve a quorum so we had a valid election. I look forward to planning a great year of Special Activities events. Congratulations to my fellow officers.

PopStroke Mini Golf last Saturday was a lot of fun. This is a very nice venue with beautiful bars overlooking the mini-golf course and delicious food. We will schedule it again.

We will have a Full moon Dinner on the Beach on Friday, May 1st. Thank you to Lisa Smelcher for leading this. You can come after the happy hour at Sicilian Oven.

We will have a fun event at Pinball Dudes on Friday, May 8th at 3:00 PM. You can enjoy playing many pinball machines for free. Thank you to Ben Smith for leading this. You can go to the happy hour at Copacabana afterwards.

Please put our Membership Picnic on Sunday, May 17th on your calendars. It will be at the Carlin Park Beach Pavilion. The theme is: “Celebrate Your Club - Wear your something alligator-related!” Please contact Lisa Smelcher if you would like to volunteer to help out.

Lisa Smelcher is leading a weekend event at Manatee Landing near Weeki Wachee on June 12-14. We will stay on the river and kayak plus join in an optional pontoon boat ride on Saturday. Please contact Lisa for more information or to sign up.

Join us on our exciting new “Music City” fall getaway trip to Nashville, staying at the Margaritaville Hotel downtown on October 11-16, 2026. For a price of only $1,290, double occupancy, you can enjoy the Jimmy Buffet “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere” ambience at the Margaritaville. We will be only 2 blocks from Nashville’s iconic Broadway, where you can experience the country music scene, bars, restaurants, honky tonks, distilleries, historical sites, and much more. It is also fall leaf viewing season and you can visit nearby parks to view them. The trip includes a club happy hour and a club dinner.

We are offering an affordable option for a boat-only trip (without an extension) for the Vienna to Budapest Bike and Barge at a low price of $3.995.

We have several exciting major trips on our docket:

· Vienna to Budapest Bike and Barge on July 25-31, 2026 (space for a single male or a single female)

· Budapest to Vienna Bike and Barge on July 28-August 8, 2026 (space available)

· Budapest to Vienna Bike and Barge (Boat-Only) August 1-8, 2026 (space available)

· South Africa and Victoria Falls Tour on September 8-22, 2026 (wait list)

· Nashville Margaritaville Hotel Fall Getaway on October 11-16, 2026 (space available)

We have some local Special Activities events that are mentioned elsewhere in this blast and are posted on our website:

· PopStroke Mini Golf Event on Saturday, April 11th.

· Snorkeling at Phil Foster Park on Wednesday, May 6th at 10:00 AM

· Pinball Dudes event on Friday, May 8th at 3:00 PM.

· Weekend at Manatee Landing on June 12-14, 2026

We also have some Social events on our calendar:

· Happy hour this Friday at Voodoo Bayou

· Sunset Celebration free concert after the happy hour on April 24th featuring The Samantha Russell Band

· Full Moon Dinner on the Beach on Friday, May 1st

· Membership Picnic at Carlin Park Beach Pavilion on Sunday, May 17th

Please join us at our happy hours. You can meet other members and make new friends or reconnect with old ones! I would like to thank Letti Falko, Lorain Lyon and Ben Smith for their ongoing help as Gator Happy Hour Ambassadors.

I will continue to plan our weekly Friday night happy hours. Our VP of Socials, Lisa Smelcher, will be organizing some occasional Saturday happy hours.

I am looking forward to seeing you at some of our events and meeting our new members.

Thank you,

Sharon Long

VP of Special Activities

Mobile: (561) 768-6365

wmarussich@comcast.net