Category: Community News

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The Milk Drunk Foundation Creating happy endings for animals in need

With the philosophy that every orphaned baby puppy or kitten deserves a fighting chance, the nonprofit Milk Drunk Foundation, founded by former midwife Michelle Bucur, 40, in 2023, feeds, nurtures, stimulates, cuddles, and loves the newborn animals so that they have a chance to live and find a good home.

“I saw a need to focus on the most vulnerable animal populations,” says Bucur, who previously volunteered at the Wonder Paws Rescue in Fort Lauderdale.

Specializing in bottle/tube-fed neonatal babies with anomalies, Bucur set about to fill a need in the community. Anomalies can include clefted bulldogs, especially French bulldogs, puppies born with congenital abnormalities such as heart defects, and animals born with missing limbs or dome-shaped heads known as hydrocephalus.

Born in Ecuador, Bucur discovered her passion for animals at an early age. As a young girl, she hid cats and dogs in her backyard tree house, hoping her parents wouldn’t find them.

But animals aren’t her only raison d’être. Bucur also has a passion for human babies, giving birth to two biological children, adopting another two, and becoming a surrogate mother not once, but twice—in 2016 and 2017.

Married to Claudiu Bucur, a battery scientist and cofounder of the solid-state battery company Piersica, based in Miami, the couple lived in China where he worked for an automobile manufacturing company.

Back in the U.S., Michelle Bucur secured a $10,000 donation to the Wonder Paws Rescue after she found and returned valuable luxury watches valued at $100,000 that were left in a Tesla that she owned and leased.

The family has two rescue dogs—a French bulldog with a cleft palate that Bucur raised since birth and a labrador mix she nurtured from a litter of three—as well as four cats, one with feline leukemia. All of them are currently thriving, she says.

“I’ve loved mothering since I was a child,” Bucur says, noting that this desire led her to become a midwife. “I have a strong desire to help the underdog (or undercat), or anyone who is unable to care for itself.”

Currently, the foundation, which operates in a foster model where every animal is paired with a foster home and family, is nurturing 17 puppies and 28 cats with the goal of getting them healthy and socialized in order to be adopted.

With the foster model, animals are not left alone in cages or shelters and don’t spend nights alone. Neonatal foster parents, who are trained caregivers, get up every two hours to bottle-feed the animals, some of which may need incubators or oxygen as well. Bucur estimates that in a traditional shelter or rescue, nine out of 10 animals would be euthanized, as it is not cost-effective to provide expensive medical care.

In 2023, she says the foundation’s “save rate” was 99%; only 1% of animals were euthanized.

Two of her specialized caregivers (and volunteers) are Abigail Babic, 18, a college student at the University of Florida (UF) in Gainesville, and Amy Osborne, 39, a social media manager for a dog company in Fort Lauderdale.

Osborne, who has a fondness for Shar Pei dogs and has two of her own, has fostered 22 puppies since December 2023. Once the puppies are weaned on raw food, at around 4–5 weeks, Osborne potty trains the puppies until they are 8–12 weeks old. One of her favorite rescues (“my heart and soul”), a puppy named Cheyenne, was adopted by a family in New York City.

Osborne keeps in touch with the adoptive parents and has plans to visit Cheyenne (now renamed Chi-Chi) when she goes to New York in November, where she will walk in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with a friend.

Babic, who is studying public relations and wildlife ecology and conservation, has been involved with animal rescue since the age of 14, during the COVID-19 quarantine. In 2023, she received the President’s Volunteer Service Award from Miami-Dade Animal Services as well as the Best Neonate Foster in Miami-Dade County in 2021 and 2023. And in 2022, she was featured in the first CBS News “Miami Proud” segment, highlighting her work as a volunteer where she bottle-fed kittens every three to four hours through the night.

Knowing she wanted to continue her efforts working with neonate fosters, Babic found Bucur and the Milk Drunk Foundation on a Google search. Accompanying her in her freshman year at UF is her former foster cat, Sticky, who she nurtured from 6 weeks old. Suffering from an upper respiratory infection, blindness, and a fractured arm that had to be amputated, the “super sweet” black cat, now 2 years old, is living his best life in her dorm room.

“Any and all animals deserve a fighting chance at life,” says Babic. “Just because they need extra care doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have a chance at life.”

She recalls one success story where a litter of five newborn puppies requiring special care was left at a gas station in a garbage bag. They managed to foster all the puppies until they were able to find forever homes and be adopted.

“There is no one like Michelle,” says Osborne. “She does everything she can to help and goes out of her way for those in need. She works tirelessly with other organizations and is always willing to go the extra mile.”

Osborne says the foundation is always looking for new foster parents to help them in their rescue mission.

“The Milk Drunk Foundation is the kind of rescue that doesn’t say no,” she says. “We do whatever we can to save the lives of the most vulnerable newborn animals. When a shelter calls in desperation, we step in and do our best to help these animals survive.

“It’s very gratifying,” she says.

For more information, visit themilkdrunkfoundation.org. Foster parents and donations are always welcome. To help in other ways, the Milk Drunk Foundation offers a wish list on Amazon (www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2XH9AEDZSR7ZM?ref_=wl_share).

 

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Hot Mess offers cool vibes

Putting the “hot” in the Hot Mess band, lead female vocalist Stacey Isaacs, 51—an attorney by day and a pop singer by night—rocks out with the classic rock and pop cover band she formed three years ago with five other local musicians. A partner, along with William Haro and her husband, David Benn, in the WorkInjuryRights law firm, a firm specializing in worker’s compensation, Isaacs, the mother of two teenage girls—Reese, 15, and Jules, 13—morphs into a rock star at night.

“The name of the band, ‘Hot Mess,’ is a great description of my life,” jokes Isaacs. “Multitasking and being pulled in all directions resonate for myself and many women.”

Along with Glen Friedman on bass guitar, Nick Montgomery on acoustic guitar, Adam Gutman on lead guitar, Russ Meadows on drums, and Leo Perez (aka the Keytar God) on keyboards, the group plays at local venues including THRōW Social in Delray Beach, the Biergarten in Boca Raton, and Sharkey’s Bar and Grill in Coral Springs, where they will perform live on Oct. 5.

“I love being a part of the band. It’s an outlet for me. As a busy attorney, business owner, and busy mom, life can be stressful,” Isaacs says on her Instagram page. “This gives me something, whether we’re practicing or performing, where I do not think about anything else but the music.”

Growing up in musical theater, Isaacs always loved performing but suffered from stage fright, which took years to overcome. She was inspired and mentored by her aunt, Hela Young, Miss New Jersey of 1971, who had a talent for singing. As a child, she remembers her aunt performing at Lincoln Center in New York City. She was encouraged by Young, who took her to voice lessons in New York, something she enjoyed doing, and she would come home every night and practice in her bedroom.

Her aunt, who later went on to become the host for the New Jersey Lottery on TV each night and was president of the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education, helped Isaacs prepare to sing at her law school graduation from Seton Hall Law School in 1997.

Isaacs practiced and sang Simon and Garfunkel’s 1970 hit, “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” in front of 1,000 attendees, an event that helped her overcome her stage fright. “That was a pivotal moment,” she remembers. “Now I love being on stage and performing.”

With a voice that has been compared to that of Alanis Morissette, Isaacs is inspired by singers and musicians Pat Benatar, Joan Jett, and the rock band Heart.

Signature songs include Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” and “What’s Up?” by 4 Non Blondes. She has also been known to perform a mean rendition of Morissette’s 1991 hit, “You Oughta Know.”

Bass guitarist, Freidman, 50, owner of the G-Clef Music Academy in Parkland, is a professional guitar, piano, and trumpet player. He has played with the likes of jazz greats Arturo Sandoval, David Sandborn, and Tito Puente as well as for Walt Disney World, Clyde Beatty Cole Bros. Circus, a number of cruise lines, and on recordings for Emilio Estefan’s Miami Sound Machine.

“Music gets in your blood and soul,” says Friedman, who knew from a young age he wanted to make a career in music. Inspired by Canadian jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson (“my idol”), Friedman also admires Journey, the Beatles, and ’80s Hair Metal bands such as Whitesnake.

Drummer Meadows, a “true Floridian,” lives in his grandparents’ and parents’ former home in Coral Springs. He also plays guitar and sings and was the catalyst for forming the band. In addition, Meadows is the tennis pro at Heron Bay in Parkland.

He forged many connections on the tennis court, including those of Friedman and Perez, and says the concept began as a hobby. Seeing a connection between the rhythm of tennis and the rhythm of music, he says, “we were surprised when it took off so well.”

Meadows continues, “We’ve become one of South Florida’s most popular cover bands. We assembled the right musicians, the right sounds—a mix of pop and rock—and make a good presentation on stage.”

The drummer, who has been drumming for 30 years, admires Led Zeppelin and the Police, especially the Police’s drummer, Stewart Copeland. He loves performing Journey’s 1980 hit, “Any Way You Want It,” and its 1981 hit, “Stone in Love.”

Noting that the band boasts both a female and a male lead vocalist, Meadows believes that this sets them apart from other bands. “We’re the quintessential cover band with a twist,” he says.

For Isaacs, who also hosts the “Success of a Hot Mess” podcast, one of the highlights of being part of a cover band is the camaraderie and the fact that her teenage daughters are proud to bring their friends to see her perform.

Future goals for the band include playing larger venues, such as the Parkland Amphitheatre and the Coral Springs Center for the Arts.

“We’re all good friends,” Isaacs says, “and enjoy performing and doing what we love. We appreciate all the support of our friends, family, and fans—and the best part is that my daughters think I’m cool.”

Hot Mess will perform live at Sharkey’s Bar & Grill, 10365 Royal Palm Blvd., Coral Springs, on Oct. 5. For more information, visit sharkeysfl.com or call (954) 341-9990. Find the Hot Mess band on Instagram at instagram.com/wearethehotmessband.

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Sharon Shevell: a message from nature

Surrealism is certainly potent in the delicate works of Sharon Shevell. When I went to view them at the Parkland Library while on display until the end of August, I could not help but want to dissect them all. Each of them tells its own story, taking us back to the prevalence of nature and in tune with the realities of today. The works are  dynamic and certainly opposed to the discrepancy-specific environments that each composition entails. Here I explore each of Shevell’s acrylic intricacies and attempt to anatomize the message that she finds and portrays from nature.

“Hope on the Horizon” is an acrylic painting on canvas, with overtones of connotation, and diversions like puzzle pieces that surrealism supplies. The bodiless configuration of the female suggests that the rest of the self is in the background. The emotions are revealing of the water, and the consciousness within the sands. Her roots in the forefront seem to be a bid to cover the mystery that interestingly and inadvertently tells all by the irony of only her right eye being exposed. It is the eye that is the focal point that’s applying the symmetry, and by its subvertical alignment before the integral of vision displaces at the horizon.

Quite possibly, the clouds off the horizon could be analogous to electrical configurations of the subject, and the thought processes, posing at the overall conjuncture of the composition. In the topic of  “hope,” the message could very well be a substance applying the importance of self-awareness.

“Oy Vey” (a Yiddish phrase expressing dismay or exasperation). Well, it is often said we should avoid talking about politics; however, politics seems to be screaming at the reciprocal of this platform, and is quite detailed. The mood changes considerably in this composition and, moreover, toward its undertones that are held of voicelessness and in the context of politics that surround the topic. Instead, Shevell seems to articulate the protection and safeguarding of the nurturement of nature, embracing it as a mother would her child. All the while, the feminine subject is emphasized as still attempting to save her head. The chosen animals involved add to the visual dynamics of this piece. The work speaks its message quite transparently, as Shevell takes the viewer through the storm of its exquisite composition.

“Another Day Another Dollar.” Acrylic, paper, coffee filters, and styrofoam quite clearly deliver what this artwork speaks about, and three-dimensionally. Paradoxically, it is quite fun to look at, while maybe not the evidence that extracted from it likely was. More so, the experience hits the message on the button, becoming a question at hand: Is it all worth it?

“Victoria’s Lament.” This painting in acrylic on canvas is another work that Shevell uses as background to the theme of emotion from off the composition. Here, what an emotionless Victoria lacks in the expression of her face is the emotional journey spread of the sea in which she dwells. And as she grasps what past is entangled with roots, the message is exposed as a question: Is it the effort to reach what washed up on the shore, or is she letting go?

Shevell exposes the hypothetical nature of mythical reasoning to converse about choices, provoking thoughts about which can be claimed, and what came first and why. Too often in life there’s a threshold that forces one to give up one thing for something else. Perhaps this message is about nature’s natural procedural of balance.

“Cry” is an emotional painting of mixed media and acrylic on canvas that seems to be a transcendence from “Hope on the Horizon.” Undoubtedly beautiful, clearly the message portrayed here is about conservation: a very important one at that.

“Eye of the Storm” is acrylic and fabric on canvas that appears as a metaphorical sense of what weather does.  It gives a sense of how time and place both create the environmental stress, and how it functions both as the action and effect.   While a psychological fraction of its pressure costs is left to be freely interpreted, the transcendence of color is interestingly viable from the skies of “Oy Vey.” This three-dimensional concept brings its extraordinary essence of interpretative vision right in front of viewers to investigate for themselves.

“Garden Nymph Contemplating the Effects of Climate Change.” Shevell’s acrylic on canvas has a surrounding seven-piece set of 8-inch-by-8-inch small canvas picked by the theme of its subjects’ motivation. This painting emphasizes the prose of the composition while its muse blends into the delicate magic of care along its landscape. The conjunction of sea life and botany coheres with the abstract thought behind her, riveting color as a tool to emphasize the need for survival. The intensity of this work is honest and provokes emotion, as is seemingly needless for any visual input by its cause. Instead, this painting’s subject is from a perspective at the other side of it. Interestingly, no matter how colorful the composition is, it still leaves the viewer with a sense of emptiness: the irony entangled with the subject at hand.

“Cosmic Winds I & II” is acrylic on canvas, both pieces integrate pebbles into galaxies, expressing the stepping-stones toward the bigger picture. What a lovely path Shevell makes of it, and within the discrepancy that time decomposes, as color fills any negative space rhythmically imposed by the contrast of suggested wavelengths. Its mundane choice of compositional trajectory keeps the subject communicating along with the connectivity of it all. Very powerful.

Sharon Shevell is a New York-raised, local Floridian residing in Parkland who studied painting at the Boca Raton Museum Art School in the 1990s. Her works have been displayed around South Florida quite fluently, and they’re held in private collections between Canada and the U.S. For more information, visit www.sharonshevellart.com.

 

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Banned in Florida: ‘It tastes like chicken’

There is nothing like a banned food that makes us more curious about it. Sometimes it makes it more attractive to attain.

Some bans are due to the endangered nature of the ingredients, like endangered sea turtles, beluga caviar, and queen conch. Or it’s due to potential risks to human consumption, like the puffer fish, raw ackee fruit, and Kinder surprise eggs (with a toy inside). Or there’s a disease risk, like haggis, due to risks of scrapies from sheep lung in the classic Robert Burns Night dish. Other bans are due to concerns of animal cruelty, like with horse meat or shark fins.

There’s an addition to that list this year, as “cultivated” meat, or lab-grown meat—which is grown from animal stem cells—got the ban hammer in Florida. Other states, such as Alabama, Arizona, and Tennessee, have similar bans on cooking.

The ban doesn’t impact manufactured meat substitutes derived from plants, like tofu-based meat substitutes or Impossible burgers.

Recently, Upside Foods, a start-up working to commercialize cultivated meat, sued to block the ban. So, what is lab-grown meat?

Scientists from the University of Maastricht in Netherlands were the first to create a lab-grown meat designed for human consumption. A hamburger costing more than $300,000 was presented in 2013; the cost was later reduced to around $11 in a few years. The FDA first approved it for U.S. sales in 2023. Also in 2023, the Orthodox Union certified a strain of lab-grown poultry meat as kosher Mehadrin meat, a first in the world.

The cultured meat is grown from animal stem cells. The cells are submerged in a stainless-steel vat of nutrient-rich broth for them to grow and divide. After a few weeks, there is enough protein to harvest. Currently, the food scientists mix the meat and press it into nugget or culet shapes for sale.

For now, lab-grown meat can only be found in a few limited locations, like Bar Crenn, a Michelin-starred eatery in San Francisco, and a Jose Andres restaurant in Washington, DC. It’s not yet widely available.

The objective of the cultivated meat industry is to reduce the environmental impact of meat production, and to be a more sustainable option for the industry. That is a promise not yet proven. The presumption is that when mass-production scale is achieved, it will reduce the land and water use compared to traditional ranching methods.

For those concerned with animal welfare, lab-grown meat introduces a new dimension. A recent poll suggests that half of vegetarians would still prefer to avoid it. Among the total population, the poll suggests about two-thirds will give lab-grown meat a try.

As society and government try to process the emergence of lab-grown meat, the fledgling industry proclaims the meat as the “safest, best protein on the planet,” as the growing methods avoid contamination due to the pathogens and antibiotics that are common in current methods.

It is also conceivable, in the future, that meat from endangered animals, such as bluefin tuna, can be grown in the lab and reduce the stress on wild populations.

For now, growing and selling cultivated meat is a crime in Florida, except for NASA and the space industry, which have been studying cultivated meat for long-term space missions.

Dean Black, a cattle rancher and Florida representative who supported the bill’s passage, stated concerns of national security, as concentrated protein production may lead to attack. And with the ban, the state hopes to protect “the integrity of American agriculture,” according to Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson. Gov. Ron DeSantis, in his statement, raised concern about the “global elite’s plan to force the world to eat meat grown in a petri dish.”

Others in the legislature were against the bill, such as our local state representative, Rep. Christine Hunschofsky. She called it a “food fight” and said that it “sends a bad message” to both researchers and businesses who are trying to grow a nascent industry.

Even though the FDA approved the lab-grown meats as safe, it doesn’t mean that they’re healthy. We’ve learned this from studies showing that ultra-processed foods have negative health implications. Even if the ingredients that go into ultra-processed foods are all safe, it’s better to eat minimally processed options. The new industry is still working to show that the micronutrients you find in your grocery store meat are present in the lab-grown variety.

So the jury is still out on the new culinary frontier, but early reviewers who have tried the cultured meat have given it good reviews. An Associated Press reviewer, who tried a cultured chicken, commented that it “tastes like chicken.”

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Sharon Shivel: a message from nature

Surrealism is certainly potent in the delicate works of Sharon Shivel. When I went to view them at the Parkland Library while on display until the end of August, I could not help but want to dissect them all. Each of them tells its own story, taking us back to the prevalence of nature and in tune with the realities of today. The works are  dynamic and certainly opposed to the discrepancy-specific environments that each composition entails. Here I explore each of Shivel’s acrylic intricacies and attempt to anatomize the message that she finds and portrays from nature.

“Hope on the Horizon” is an acrylic painting on canvas, with overtones of connotation, and diversions like puzzle pieces that surrealism supplies. The bodiless configuration of the female suggests that the rest of the self is in the background. The emotions are revealing of the water, and the consciousness within the sands. Her roots in the forefront seem to be a bid to cover the mystery that interestingly and inadvertently tells all by the irony of only her right eye being exposed. It is the eye that is the focal point that’s applying the symmetry, and by its subvertical alignment before the integral of vision displaces at the horizon.

Quite possibly, the clouds off the horizon could be analogous to electrical configurations of the subject, and the thought processes, posing at the overall conjuncture of the composition. In the topic of  “hope,” the message could very well be a substance applying the importance of self-awareness.

“Oy Vey” (a Yiddish phrase expressing dismay or exasperation). Well, it is often said we should avoid talking about politics; however, politics seems to be screaming at the reciprocal of this platform, and is quite detailed. The mood changes considerably in this composition and, moreover, toward its undertones that are held of voicelessness and in the context of politics that surround the topic. Instead, Shivel seems to articulate the protection and safeguarding of the nurturement of nature, embracing it as a mother would her child. All the while, the feminine subject is emphasized as still attempting to save her head. The chosen animals involved add to the visual dynamics of this piece. The work speaks its message quite transparently, as Shivel takes the viewer through the storm of its exquisite composition.

“Another Day Another Dollar.” Acrylic, paper, coffee filters, and styrofoam quite clearly deliver what this artwork speaks about, and three-dimensionally. Paradoxically, it is quite fun to look at, while maybe not the evidence that extracted from it likely was. More so, the experience hits the message on the button, becoming a question at hand: Is it all worth it?

“Victoria’s Lament.” This painting in acrylic on canvas is another work that Shivel uses as background to the theme of emotion from off the composition. Here, what an emotionless Victoria lacks in the expression of her face is the emotional journey spread of the sea in which she dwells. And as she grasps what past is entangled with roots, the message is exposed as a question: Is it the effort to reach what washed up on the shore, or is she letting go?

Shivel exposes the hypothetical nature of mythical reasoning to converse about choices, provoking thoughts about which can be claimed, and what came first and why. Too often in life there’s a threshold that forces one to give up one thing for something else. Perhaps this message is about nature’s natural procedural of balance.

“Cry” is an emotional painting of mixed media and acrylic on canvas that seems to be a transcendence from “Hope on the Horizon.” Undoubtedly beautiful, clearly the message portrayed here is about conservation: a very important one at that.

“Eye of the Storm” is acrylic and fabric on canvas that appears as a metaphorical sense of what weather does.  It gives a sense of how time and place both create the environmental stress, and how it functions both as the action and effect.   While a psychological fraction of its pressure costs is left to be freely interpreted, the transcendence of color is interestingly viable from the skies of “Oy Vey.” This three-dimensional concept brings its extraordinary essence of interpretative vision right in front of viewers to investigate for themselves.

“Garden Nymph Contemplating the Effects of Climate Change.” Shivel’s acrylic on canvas has a surrounding seven-piece set of 8-inch-by-8-inch small canvas picked by the theme of its subjects’ motivation. This painting emphasizes the prose of the composition while its muse blends into the delicate magic of care along its landscape. The conjunction of sea life and botany coheres with the abstract thought behind her, riveting color as a tool to emphasize the need for survival. The intensity of this work is honest and provokes emotion, as is seemingly needless for any visual input by its cause. Instead, this painting’s subject is from a perspective at the other side of it. Interestingly, no matter how colorful the composition is, it still leaves the viewer with a sense of emptiness: the irony entangled with the subject at hand.

“Cosmic Winds I & II” is acrylic on canvas, both pieces integrate pebbles into galaxies, expressing the stepping-stones toward the bigger picture. What a lovely path Shivel makes of it, and within the discrepancy that time decomposes, as color fills any negative space rhythmically imposed by the contrast of suggested wavelengths. Its mundane choice of compositional trajectory keeps the subject communicating along with the connectivity of it all. Very powerful.

Sharon Shivel is a New York-raised, local Floridian residing in Parkland who studied painting at the Boca Raton Museum Art School in the 1990s. Her works have been displayed around South Florida quite fluently, and they’re held in private collections between Canada and the U.S. For more information, visit www.sharonshevellart.com.

 

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Rubixx brings the ’80s to life

Just like the iconic symbol of the 1980s, the Rubik’s Cube, the local tribute band Rubixx takes its name from that symbol of purity, stability, and endless possibilities.

Founded in 2018 by Coconut Creek resident Rob Lankenau, 60, the tribute band specializes in ’80s music, including New Wave, Top 40, and pop.

“I’m part of the MTV generation,” says Lankenau. “I graduated high school in 1983, and I’m fascinated by ’80s music.”

The six-member group consists of Thomas Pisani on keyboards/rhythm guitar, Rory Hickey on bass guitar, Francis Cast on lead guitar and backing vocals, Dominick J. Daniel on drums and percussion, and female lead vocalist Lisa Maciolek (also of the rock band Fifth Wheel’d). Both Daniel and Cast were members of the ’90s punk-rock band Livid Kittens, and Pisani was a leader in the rock-and-roll band Happy Daze.

Rubixx was founded as a five-piece band. Lankenau, a New York native, knew he needed to add a woman to the mix. “You cannot call yourself an ’80s tribute band without the ‘ladies of the ’80s,’” he jokes. “What would the ’80s be without Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Whitney Houston, or Olivia Newton John?”

“I wanted to do it right,” he says. “And with Maciolek, we hit pay dirt. Lisa is one of the hardest-working people in the business and takes the bull by the horns.”

Trying to think of a good ’80s name for the band, Lankenau experimented with “The Breakfast Club” and “Members Only,” but when he hit on “Rubixx,” he knew he had a winner.

“What’s more ’80s than a Rubik’s Cube?” he comments.

Lankenau’s interest in singing began in high school, where he sang in chorus and in the “select chorus,” which competed throughout New York state. He credits his choral teacher, Ellen Levine, for her instruction and still keeps in touch on Facebook. “She was a big influence,” he remembers. “I loved to sing, and she taught me harmony and gave me purpose.”

Known for their breadth of ’80s music, the band plays locally at THROW Social in Delray Beach, Café 27 in Weston, Gigi’s Bar & Café in Pompano Beach, Crazy Uncle Mike’s in Boca Raton, and Sharkey’s Bar & Grill in Coral Springs, where they will be playing on Sept. 21.

Lankenau, the owner of Rad Pest Services in Coconut Creek, gives a shout-out to Richard Kushner, owner of Sharkey’s Bar & Grill. “We love Richard,” he says. “Sharkey’s is one of our favorite places to play, and we always get a huge turnout.”

Lankenau does his due diligence listening to ’80s music to rediscover new songs for the band’s repertoire. “It never gets old,” he says.

And while he can appreciate the energy of hard rock, metal, and dance music, it’s Freddie Mercury and Queen that hold a special place in his heart.

Queen’s 1991 hit, “These Are the Days of Our Lives”—which recounts a story about looking back with pleasure on your life and seeing it through the eyes of your kids—resonates most for Lankenau

“It always brings a tear to my eye,” he says.

Other bands that Lankenau likes include Van Halen, Long Island’s Blue Oyster Cult, U2, and his favorite, the Australian rock band INXS.

For his wedding, he danced to Elton John’s “Your Song” and serenaded his wife with Eric Clapton’s ballad, “Wonderful Tonight.”

“It was a satisfying moment,” Lankenau says. And while he says, “I killed it,” the actual proof is on a long-forgotten VHS tape.

Lead vocalist Maciolek, 48, whose singing style has been compared to that of soul singers Chaka Khan and Aretha Franklin and vocal abilities to Celine Dion, says she is blessed to make her living doing what she loves.

In addition to performing with Rubixx, the Boca Raton resident has performed on the cruise-ship circuit and has her own business, Songbird Sessions, along with Fifth Wheel’d.

Growing up in New Jersey listening to Motown, Doo-wop, the blues, Jackie Wilson, Smokey Robinson, and Aretha Franklin, Maciolek entered a talent competition at the age of 11. With no formal training (“I came out whaling”) other than singing along to the radio in her basement, she prepared and sang “The Rose” by Bette Midler.

“It was the most exciting, frightening, and exhilarating moment of my life,” Maciolek remembers. “It sparked passion and changed my life.”

She spent six years in the program at a local performing arts high school where her career goals as a singer and entertainer were cemented. Later, she worked with many of her childhood heroes such as Benny King, Leslie Gore, and Frankie Lyman on the Doo-wop circuit and at oldies radio WCBS-FM in New York.

Maciolek opened for Vito Picone & The Elegants and Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge. “I sing with heart and power,” she says. “It makes people feel what you’re feeling.”

Maciolek says she is excited to work with Lankenau and Rubixx and that she and Lankenau hit it off vocally. “It’s the music of my time,” she says. “Even though we all come from different worlds, I feel at home.”

They are all on the same page musically, Maciolek says. “We want the same heartbeat. We are the most driven, passionate, and talented individuals and make magic happen out of nothing.

“It’s inspiring to find others filled with the same passion,” she says. “It’s great to be a part of something greater than yourself and share the fire.”

Rubixx will perform live at Sharkey’s Bar & Grill, 10365 Royal Palm Blvd., Coral Springs, on Saturday, Sept. 21. For more information, visit sharkeysfl.com, call (954) 341-9990, or

visit them on Facebook.

 

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Smokin Renegade The amazing world of playing in a rock cover band

Finding a niche in the South Florida cover band scene was not easy, but Frank Vestry, 62, lead vocalist of the Smokin Renegade classic rock tribute band, found a niche covering the music of rock bands Boston and Styx, both popular in the late 1970s–80s.

The band takes their name from the Boston song “Smokin’ ” on its 1976 debut album, the B-side to its first single, “More Than a Feeling,” and the 1979 Styx hit song “Renegade” from its “Pieces of Eight” album.

“When the band gathered together for the first practice, it was in a word—amazing,” Vestry writes on the band’s website. “Once the first run-through of the songs was complete, we knew we had something special.”

Vestry says, “Everything gelled together.”

He put the two song names together and “it seemed to work.” He notes that the band have been playing together in South Florida since 2018.

The band—which spotlights Boston’s “More than a Feeling” and Styx’s “Come Sail Away”—is known for their searing guitar licks, vintage synthesizers, pounding rhythms, and vocal harmonies, led by Vestry.

In addition to Vestry, the band comprises Dean Summers, lead guitarist and vocals; Ken Urquhart, keyboards, vocals, and musical director; Rob Darmanin, drums, percussion, and vocals; and Howi Hughes, bass guitar and vocals (who changed his name from Patrick to Howi because the real Howard Hughes wasn’t using it, he says).

The musicians have toured with national acts and played in some of the biggest tribute bands.

Vestry, a Long Island native, came to his vocal abilities naturally, as both parents were musical. His mother, Marie Elena, was a singer before marrying his father, Frank Vestry, a professional tenor. His dad played at renowned nightclubs in New York City, including the Copacabana and the Latin Quarter, and filled in for Tony Bennett.

A shy kid, Vestry started a garage band at age 15, and by 18 he decided that singing was what he wanted to pursue as a career. His band, Devias, played iconic venues in and around New York City and Long Island—including the Cat Club, the Limelight, the China Club, L’Amour, the Stage Door, Industry Steel, and My Father’s Place. Its members later went on to play with Alice Cooper, Dokken, and Ted Nugent.

Among his top musical Influences, he counts vocalist Brad Delp from Boston (“love his voice”), Stevie Wonder, Elton John, and the Beatles.

Driven by the love of music, the desire to be the best he can be, and the joy of seeing people loving the music is what gets Vestry up and going in the morning.

Now married and the father of two daughters, Vestry says he’s thrilled to be making music all these years later. “It’s amazing to be doing something I love and earning a living doing it,” he reflects. “It’s a blessing.”

Highlights of his career including writing original songs in the melodic rock genre and releasing an album with Rob Marcello, a Swedish guitar player, which garnered 100,000 views on YouTube, as well as playing with Bon Jovi, Van Halen, and White Snake, among others, at the National Association of Music Merchants trade show in California in 1998.

Urquhart, 53, a Florida native who now lives in Delray Beach, met Vestry when the two played together in a bar band called the Evil Monkeys.

Learning keyboards from his father as a child on an electric Lowrey organ, Urquhart sang in the church choir, where he learned to harmonize. He found his early musical influences in Billy Joel and Elton John and later with British keyboardists Howard Jones, Rick Wakeman, and Keith Emerson.

He jumped at the chance to join Vestry in the Smokin Renegade band and says, “It’s an incredible honor to play on stage in front of so many enthusiastic people.”

Urquhart jokes, “This is as close to rock-stardom as we get.”

When the band formed, they released a recording of their first live stage show on Facebook to determine fan reaction and were gratified that band promoters reached out and contacted them immediately.

They have performed as far away as Kansas and Georgia, but these days they prefer to stay within driving distance. In July, they returned to the Daytona Bandshell for the city’s Star-Spangled Summer Concert Series where they performed for a crowd of 3,000. Other highlights include playing the Plantation Seafood and Music Festival, Rock the Park in Abacoa, the Riley Center in Ocala to a sold-out audience, and the House of Blues in Orlando.

Although the band takes their music seriously, Urquhart says they don’t take themselves too seriously. He says they are all motivated to go on stage and indulge in a musical conversation.

“We’re genuinely having fun,” he says. “We’re all on the same page. What sets us apart is the focus and detail to the sound.”

Because the original Boston doesn’t tour anymore, Urquhart says, audiences are excited to hear their music live. “Music is memory,” he notes. “It’s so touching when people tell us the moments they remember when they first heard this music.”

This fall, the band plans to add the music of Foreigner, now on its farewell tour, to their repertoire.

Still on an upward trajectory, Vestry and Urquhart say the band has no plans to slow down, although Urquhart does admit to a fantasy of going out on tour. “Just once,” he says. “It’s on my bucket list.”

Whether or not that happens is yet to be determined, but doing what they love is the immediate priority.

“It’s special to participate in this magic,” Urquhart says. “We can’t ask for more.”

Smokin Renegade will perform live at Sharkey’s Bar & Grill, 10365 Royal Palm Blvd., Coral Springs, on Saturday, Aug. 24. For more information, go to sharkeysfl.com or call (954) 341-9990. Visit: SmokinRenegade.com.

 

 

 

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Rocking out with the Smokin’ Aces

“The ringleader of craziness” is how The Smokin’ Aces lead singer Lou Falco (who goes by “FALCO”) describes himself. “I’m the one with the bald head, goatee, and black nail polish.”

Originally from Valley Stream, N.Y., FALCO, 55, came to South Florida in 2000, moved away six years later, and returned in 2010 after sojourns to Texas and Georgia. He now lives in Deerfield Beach.

Singing since the age of 13, FALCO’s inspirations include Kiss, the original Van Halen with David Lee Roth, and Ronnie James Dio, a heavy metal singer who sang with a number of bands, including Black Sabbath.

The name “The Smokin’ Aces” was inspired by Joe Carnahan’s 2006 action film of the same name. “I thought it was cool,” FALCO says.

Additionally, the singer performs with the band Wicked Maraya. They toured Europe and the Americas, releasing five CDs including their latest one titled “Chapters,” released in 2023 by Massacre Records and characterized by moody, emotional layers, heavy grooves, and big, melodic vocals. Two months later, the CD hit No. 2 on the U.S. metal CD charts.

The band played their first live show in 25 years last March at Piper’s Pub in Pompano Beach and will be playing around South Florida this August.

The Smokin’ Aces—composed of Rafael Sa on bass, Johnny Ace on drums, Jose Pantoja on guitar, and Al Stone on keyboard—is known for putting on a good show and playing every party and fun genre of music, including rock, pop, punk, dance, disco, country, and funk.

Stone, 50, and FALCO have been making music together since 2000, meeting in the party and cover band Funkette at Murphy’s Law Irish Pub, a former landmark bar on Las Olas Boulevard. It was also a landmark time for Stone, who met his wife there while playing.

“Kismet,” Stone says, “An arrow and a beam of light hit me.”

A Plantation resident, Stone is 99.9% self-taught. He learned to play on his Casio keyboard by listening to Bruce Springsteen’s 1984 song, “Dancing in the Dark,” and Van Halen’s “Jump,” which he plays to this day.

“The current incarnation of The Smokin’ Aces is one of the best groups I’ve played with,” Stone says. “There’s nothing we won’t try and nothing we don’t excel at.”

He compares the band’s efforts to a snowplow, saying they clear the way for the audience to have a good time.

While he appreciates both Judas Priest and heavy metal, Stone likes to keep the band’s repertoire diverse and occasionally throws in something out of left field, such as a Harry Styles or Steely Dan tune.

“I’m the odd one out,” Stone confesses, admitting to a preference for melodic music, including the Beach Boys, Chicago, and Canadian singer-songwriter Gino Vannelli.

“Music allows us to navigate different emotions the crowd is feeling,” he says. “If they want to party and let loose and need a shot of adrenaline, we play louder, more rocking music. But, there’s a time to mellow out as well.”

With eclectic tastes, Stone listens to different musical genres. Feeling nostalgic, he’ll play some ’80s music; if he’s in a sentimental mood, he’ll put on Janes Taylor. He enjoys the Little River Band and the Eagles and gladly says he’s a huge Ambrosia fan.

“I’m the chameleon of the group,” he jokes. “I even listen to Miles Davis and Latin jazz.”

Among his musical influences, Stone says he’d most like to meet Michael McDonald, keyboardist for the Doobie Brothers, and his early inspiration, the Doors’ Ray Manzarek.

Stone is thankful to be part of the group and thankful to bring joy to his fans. “We genuinely have a good time on stage,” he says. “So as a result, the crowd has a good time.”

FALCO agrees. “If the audience is dancing and having fun, that’s what it’s all about,” he says.

Their 20-year career has been “amazing,” FALCO says.

Also a realtor with his partner, Lori Paolillo of Realty100, Rock And Roll Realtors, and a 911 emergency communications dispatcher at Coral Springs Police Department, FALCO got his start in Florida in 2000 by walking into Murphy’s Law, getting up on stage, and wowing the crowd.

“I had to learn 150 songs in three weeks,” he remembers. Twenty-five years later, he is still going strong.

“We know how to cater to the crowd; we’re practical, not pretentious,” FALCO says.

“We listen to our fans and fill our venues,” he says. “We throw everything against the wall and see what sticks.”

They cover a wide variety of bands such as Italian rock band Måneskin, Limp Bizkit, The Cure, Matchbox 20, and Kid Rock, as well as the Weekend, Marc Anthony, and Ricky Martin.

Locally, the band plays at Biergarten Boca Raton, Cagney’s House of Rock in Davie, Piper’s Pub in Pompano Beach, and Sharkey’s Bar and Grill in Coral Springs, where they will perform on July 26.

“We’re honored and thankful ‘our crowd’ follows us, comes out for us, supports us, and parties with us,” FALCO says. “We owe it all to our crowd.”

A fan writing on their Facebook page says, “The Smokin’ Aces play their a**es off—every set, every show.”

Find The Smokin’ Aces on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheSmokinAces. They will be at Sharkey’s Bar & Grill, 10365 Royal Palm Blvd., Coral Springs, on Friday, July 26. For more information, visit sharkeysfl.com or call (954) 341-9990. Wicked Maraya will perform around South Florida in mid-August. For more information, visit www.wickedmaraya.com.

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Scenes for summer: Nava Lundy

Adaptability. From the plasticity of an organism, to neuroplasticity of the human brain, to simply adapting to life, this quality engulfs us all.

Nava Lundy is no stranger to it. She has been painting all her life, and professionally since 1998. Lundy has transitioned from drawing from live models, and traveling with a sketchbook in her hands, to domestically taking memories from old photographs. While life changes, so do her strategies to make her art adapt. It is a mastery that has drawn her works of gold. Quite literally, actually.

Lundy’s canvas always begins already full. Her textured backgrounds build upon one another to create her “set.” Gold shines through her muses to highlight their beauty. It accents as a complementary emphasis in her compositions.

Lundy holds a certification in painting from the first art academy in America and a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the University of Pennsylvania. She was taught in oils, but when she got pregnant with twins, her choice of medium changed to acrylics. “It was too dangerous,” she explained.

Either way, omnifying her art remains the offset to her strategies, and those who prefer oils may be fooled, if not take a double-take, when viewing her work.

This month we adapt to the summer with some of her refreshing themes.

Hats. The Studio E Gallery in Palm Beach Gardens seems to be selling several of Lundy’s hats this time of year. Why wouldn’t they? There is always a seeming mystery left to the viewer that entices wonder and imagination as to the subject. Who is behind the hat? Is that you?

There is an elegance and sophistication present in these themes that is suggested in her characters. “Escape” (2021), a 36-by-36 acrylic on canvas (sold), is one of them. It warms you up and cools you down at the same time. Who wouldn’t want to dip their feet in the water and sip on some pina coladas in the hot summer months ahead? Let’s hope to do so!

Her lively art demonstrates concepts with which the viewer can connect. It is something to appreciate. When asked what motivates her, the answer was quite a simple one:

Mood. It is a natural contributor to Lundy’s work. “Watermelon Sugar,” a 36-by-72 acrylic on canvas, is a lovely example of mood (title picture), especially this time of year.

Before 2021, Lundy may not have chosen to work with water’s ripples and reflections. She referred to it on social media as something that once was “daunting.”

However, it seems the mood got contagious, according to Lundy, as attempting the complexity of water compositions has brought joy to do them, and cooling off can be quite the observer’s delight!

For beach lovers, “Come Sit Beside Me” (2024), acrylic and mixed media on canvas (sold), brings a calming elation. Here distinctively are the vibrant accents of gold. The composition brings together the stubborn strokes of dissonance into a graceful escape.

Lundy’s work has been used in several set designs in films, is part of the permanent digital collection at the University of South Florida in partnership with the Florida Holocaust Museum, and is in the permanent collections of private collectors, universities, and museums around the world, including Australia, Canada, and Israel. More locally, Lundy has exhibited at the Fort Lauderdale airport. She is an internationally recognized artist right here in the local community.

To view some of Nava Lundy’s muses, her online gallery is at navagallery.com.

 

 

 

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HB Boulevard: On the road to success

Following in the footsteps of Kurt Cobain and his garage band, Nirvana, in the 1980s, five high school kids from Parkland and Coral Springs hope to steal a page from that playbook and hit it big with their grunge and rock garage band, HB Boulevard.

Named after Heron Bay Blvd., the five friends—Lawson Jay (vocalist), Jose Nunez (lead guitarist), and Josiah Jimenez (drummer), all 17, and Logan Siskin (rhythm guitar) and Anthony Pellito (bassist), both 16, all students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSD)—have become the “unofficial Stoneman Douglas rock band.”

Last September they performed in front of 3,000 people at the MSD pep rally, and they’ve performed locally in the First Annual MSD Battle of the Bands, at Black Flamingo Brewing in Pompano Beach, and at the Black Flamingo Echoes of the Flamingo Music Festival last summer.

This is only the beginning for this group of passionate musicians, says their unofficial manager, Adam Jay, father of the band’s lead singer, Lawson Jay, who aspires one day to be a successful businessman, preferably in the music industry.

“I am super proud of these fine gentlemen,” says Jay, a sales manager at a legal education publishing company. “They have shown grit and determination in doing something they’re passionate about.”

The group practices two to three times each week in the Jays’ garage, and Adam Jay has watched their evolution over the past two years. “They have grown so much since they first started,” he says. “I’ve watched them grow, both personally and musically, and see how they treat each other with dignity and respect.

“It’s nice to see kids this age engaged in something so meaningful and special,” he says.

While the five were not even born in the 1980s, they all are passionate about music from that era and are inspired by the music of Green Day, Guns ‘N Roses, Metallica, Van Halen, Black Sabbath, and the Foo Fighters. And yes, even the Beatles get a shout-out.

Siskin, who plays rhythm guitar in the band, finds inspiration in Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Paige. Vocalist Jay admires Green Day’s singer and guitarist, Billy Joe Armstrong; and Nunez, the band’s lead guitarist, models himself on Eddie Van Halen and Kirk Hammett, lead guitarist in Metallica.

“He inspired me to play like him—fast and furious,” says Nunez, who hopes one day to meet his musical idols.

“It’s the rebirth of this musical style, and we’re adding something new to complement the old,” says Pellito, who has numerous passions, including engineering and mechanics, creating things with his hands, and becoming an astronaut.

“It’s classic ’80s, ’90s, and early 2000s music—when music was good,” he jokes. “That’s my era.”

Pellito thanks his dad, Gregg Pellito, a retired deejay, for introducing him to this music.

In fact, they have created a new musical genre, one they like to call “rift rock,” a combination of punk, classic rock ‘n’ roll, and metal.

A recent highlight for the group was when HB Boulevard played a cover of Green Day’s “The American Dream Is Killing Me” at a New Year’s Eve party. Green Day’s lead singer, Armstrong, saw the video on YouTube and reposted it to his Instagram page with 2.7 million followers.

“Shocked” when he heard this news, Pellito cut himself while washing dishes. “That’s pretty awesome,” he says. “It encourages us to keep going.”

While they all have plans to finish high school and go on to college, they hope to make music a priority in their lives. Their long-term goals are to entertain, to spread the word of rock ‘n’ roll, and to find fame and fortune. They have performed a few original songs and hope to continue creating new works.

How will they know when they’ve made it?

For Siskin, it’s buying a Gibson Les Paul guitar; for Jimenez, it’s the luxury of personal bodyguards; and for Nunez, it’s getting a signature BC Rich guitar and getting voted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

The group supports local MSD nonprofits: Safe Schools for Alex, founded by Max Schachter in honor of his son, Alex; and Lori and Ilan Alhadeff’s Make Our Schools Safe, created in memory of their daughter, Alyssa. Both Alex Schachter and Alyssa Alhadeff were killed in the MSD school shooting in February 2018.

“We want to give back to the community,” says Lawson Jay. “We would love to perform at Pine Trails Park and Amphitheater for a local charity.

“Mayor Walker, if you’re listening,” he says, “we are ready and willing to go.”

Visit HB Boulevard on YouTube and Instagram.

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Nobody’s Fault: Local band has staying power

From Led Zeppelin’s “The Ocean,” to Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain,” to Deep Purple’s “Hush,” Nobody’s Fault, South Florida’s classic and new rock band, plays it all.

Although the origin of the name is lost in the ether, one possibility is that it’s a nod to Aerosmith’s 1976 “Nobody’s Fault,” or Led Zeppelin’s 1979 hit, “Nobody’s Fault But Mine.”

Now mostly in their 60s, guitarist Rick Friedlander, lead vocalist William (Bill) Murphy, his brother Steve Murphy (guitarist, keyboardist, and vocalist), bass player and vocalist Mark Knight, and drummer Paul Green have been playing together since 1997; and the Murphys and Knight have been playing together since high school.

“I met Bill at 17 when we worked together at K-Mart,” says Knight, who is a laser engineer by trade. “We started making noise together, and the rest is history.”

They are one of the longest continuing bands in South Florida, with a large fan base. “We’re a band of brothers,” says Bill Murphy. “For good or bad; we fight like siblings, but love each other.”

He attributes this camaraderie for their longevity. “We’re good friends and share a musical bond,” he says. “We always make time to play together. We’re in it for the fun, and we enjoy our time together on stage.”

From a musical family—his parents were folk musicians in New York—he and his younger brother Steve grew up in the business. “We had no choice,” he jokes.

At 13, Bill Murphy went to see the Jackson 5 perform, and he says that “the concert changed my life.”

That day he made the decision to make the music industry his life. “I never looked back,” he says.

Within two years, he and Steve were performing at a friend’s wedding reception.

Bill Murphy went on to have a 35-year professional career as a radio DJ, both in Dallas and in Miami at 101.5 LITE FM, BIG 105.9 classic rock, and WSHE rock & roll 103.5 (She’s Only Rock and Roll). He was the announcer and voice of the Florida Panthers for 14 years.

He has also been a part of other local bands, including Joe Rush, Company Kane, Top Priority, the Free Radicals, and Smoke and Mirrors. One of his biggest influences is Paul Carrack (aka “The Man with the Golden Voice”), best known for his 1975 song, “How Long” (“Has this been going on?”), and his rendition of “The Living Years.”

“He has such a soulful, passionate voice,” Murphy says. “It’s a huge compliment when people tell me I sound like him.”

A highlight of his career came at a Panthers game in 2012 where he played with the band pre-game, announced the game, and then played after the game to thousands of people at the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise.

“It was a great atmosphere and so much fun,” recalls Murphy. “I am blessed to make a living doing what I love. This is the key to a good life.”

Steve Murphy traveled the world and played with Alan Parsons, an English musician, songwriter, and record producer who was the sound engineer on the Beatles’ “Abbey Road” in 1969, “Let It Be” in 1970, and Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon” in 1973.

A multi-disciplinary musician—he plays guitar, keyboards, and sings—Steve Murphy also drums. With dreams of becoming Stewart Copeland, Jeff Porcaro, or John Henry Bonham (all drummers), Murphy played with some of his favorite bands, including the Police, Toto, and Led Zeppelin.

He toured with the Hit Men and the Trans Siberian Orchestra, visiting more than 40 countries in eight years with guitarist Godfrey Townsend and the Alan Parsons Live Project.

Nobody’s Fault drummer Green began playing music at the age of 13 with his mother, Susan Rose, a musician. They performed at a USO show in Japan and traveled the country, arriving in Florida in 1973.

Moving out at the age of 16, Green studied at the Recording Institute of America, where he learned lighting, sound, and stage building. He brought national acts including the Police and Pat Benatar to Florida, went on tour with the Jackson 5, and recorded an album with the Joe Rush Band.

“We love what we’re doing,” says bass player Knight, “and we hope to keep doing it. We give our fans our best every time—you never know when the last show will be.”

For Green, a highlight is the togetherness and camaraderie the band provides. “I enjoy that we’ve all been together for so long,” he says. “We communicate through music.”

He notes that over the past 25 years, the band has had its share of ups and downs.

“It’s like a boot camp,” he says. “We’ve been through thick and thin and have now become a family.”

For more information, visit nobodysfaultband.com or like them on Facebook. Upcoming dates include Saturday, Jan. 13, at Sharkey’s Bar & Grill, 10365 Royal Palm Blvd., Coral Springs. Visit sharkeysfl.com or call (954) 341-9990.

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‘Freddy the Ref’ Honoring Fred Yarmuth for over 30 years of service

It all started one day in 1993 when Parkland resident Fred Yarmuth, 70, was driving down the street and saw some kids playing ball in a field. “Hmm,” he thought, “I might like to be their referee.”

Little did he know that more than 30 years later, he would come to be known as Parkland’s “legendary referee,” or as Broward County Mayor Michael Udine nicknamed him affectionately, “Freddy the Ref.”

Born in Passaic, NJ, Yarmouth moved to Louisville, KY, as a child and attended the University of Louisville. He later worked for the now-defunct restaurant chain Victoria Station, and then he worked with his dad in construction and cleaning new homes.

In 1979 he moved to North Miami Beach, a move that would define the rest of his life. He met and married his wife, Karen. The two have two daughters, Lindsay, 37, an attorney, and Brittany, 33, who works for a health-care company, and a 6-year-old grandson, Brandon, who just started playing flag football and basketball in Parkland sports.

“I try not to ref him,” jokes Yarmuth.

While he may refrain from refereeing his grandson, Yarmuth has been an essential part of many children’s and families’ sporting lives in Parkland. He made his mark on Parkland sports and has been integral to the growth of the Parkland sports leagues over the past three decades.

Yarmuth is known for his patience, compassion, and kindness, and he takes time out to teach others the rules of the game and the importance of sportsmanship. He has left a lasting impact on the development of young athletes, both on and off the field.

He volunteers countless hours working with others to improve the sports services and facilities, and many say he is the true heart of recreational sports in Parkland.

“For as long as I can remember, Freddy has been a vital part of Parkland rec sports, and as a result, a part of the Brier family as well,” says Simeon Brier, Parkland’s vice mayor and city commissioner for District 1.

“Whether it was refereeing my younger brothers’ games, games I coached while in college, games for my two daughters in multiple sports, and now refereeing games for my niece and nephews, Freddy has seen multiple generations of Parklanders on the courts and fields of our city parks,” he says.

Brier, who was elected last November, and who has lived in Parkland for 40 years and coached rec sports in the city since the 1990s, is familiar with the ins and outs of the job. “Freddy has a great sense of humor, a passion for youth sports, and is a beloved part of the Parkland community.”

Yarmuth’s passion for sports began when he played basketball in high school, and he gives credit to his former intramural coach, Eugene Minton, for encouraging his love of the game.

It’s that love he passes down to his players. “I love working with the kids,” says Yarmuth. “I love teaching them the rules, seeing them play the game over the years, and watching them grow up. Some of my first kids now have their own kids in the league.

“I’ve seen them come full circle,” he says.

In his younger days, Yarmuth would pick up the little kids and put them on his shoulders to help them make a basket. “They remember me to this day for that,” he says. “That really made their season.”

One of the kids he refereed since the age of 4 is now 16-year-old Broward Preparatory School sophomore Nate Harmelin, who played flag football and basketball.

“Freddy is the grandpa that everyone loves,” says Harmelin. “He makes us laugh with his jokes. We always have a good time with Freddy, and whether I’m on the court or run into him in Parkland, I always get a good laugh from Freddy.”

His father, Adam Harmelin, who coaches football and basketball, says, “Freddy always tries to help the younger kids who are not playing well. He always looks out for the underdog. He’s a wonderful man.”

In addition to his volunteer referee duties, Yarmuth works as a paraprofessional at Riverside Elementary in Coral Springs, volunteers his time packing food boxes with Feeding South Florida, and volunteers on local political campaigns.

In 2021 he was honored with the Humanitarian Award from the Parkland Flag Football League, and in 2022 he was inducted into the Dr. Nan S. Hutchison Broward County Senior Hall of Fame and honored for his contribution and service to the community. A plaque with his name hangs in the Broward County Government Building.

“Freddy’s commitment and dedication to the league is second to none,” says Evan Golden, a Parkland flag football board member for the past five years. “Not only has he devoted countless hours to the kids, but he builds relationships with both the kids and their families.”

“Freddy makes sure to develop relationships on and off the field,” says Golden. “He’s always in a good mood, brings a positive energy and good spirit, and always tries to get all the kids involved to have fun and learn the sport.”

In his own life, Yarmuth says his parents and two brothers were his biggest influences. “We all encouraged each other,” he says. He credits his wife Karen for “keeping me on the straight and narrow.”

When not on the field, Yarmuth enjoys a good game of golf, and cruising to Alaska with extended family.

“Freddy is a charismatic and selfless individual who has dedicated decades to the Parkland community in the form of refereeing sports and creating amazing memories and relationships with the parents, players, and coaches he has refereed,” says Jacob Brier, president of the Parkland Basketball Club.

“He is a staple in Parkland and deserves all the recognition and credit as his commitment to the community and youth sports is unmatched,” Brier says.

What have been some of the highlights of Yarmuth’s refereeing career?

“Being inducted into the Senior Hall of Fame,” he says. “Every day is an adventure. I’m very low-key, but am thrilled when a parent remembers me from refereeing their kid—that’s a thrill.”

Does he have any words of advice for someone considering the position?

“Do your best and enjoy it,” Yarmuth says. “Don’t take it too seriously. If you want it as a career, it’s a great profession—it’s been good to me.”

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