From the Publishers

One of the things we do when we reach our “golden years” is to reflect back over our lives and consider what were the real highlights, and what we might have done differently if we had a chance to do it again. 

I often think how lucky Renee and I were to have found each other in government class at the Clearwater campus of St. Petersburg Junior College 52 years ago. Renee LaFountain was a Tampa girl, a student and teacher at the Frank Rey Dance Academy, and a star of the Florida Ballet Company. She was a professional entertainer, both locally and in Montreal and the northeast U.S. in the summers. She had taken classes over many summers at June Taylor’s in NYC from Luigi, the “father of jazz,” and from Charles Kelly, who combined gymnastics with ballet to create “acrobatic dancing,” which became Renee’s specialty. She led the Gasparilla parade for years, walking on her hands most of the way. Her mother insisted she be ahead of the Clydesdales from Busch Gardens. She had graduated from Tampa’s Sacred Heart Academy, an all-girls Catholic high school. I was a Canadian who had attended three different high schools and learned that there was somewhere where it did not snow. I had talked my folks into selling everything and starting over in Florida. Dad had bought 40 acres on Lake Tarpon and Highway 19 near Palm Harbor to start a campground. 

I had been helping him with that project, but soon started work at Publix in Tarpon Springs, to earn pocket money for dating. I continued as a grocer throughout my college years.  Our son Jordan’s arrival a year after we wed was a real highlight. Switching careers from dance and public accounting to publishing in the early 1980s was also a major turn for us both. 

An opportunity surfaced, and we responded. That set the stage for a lifetime of working together, blending our diverse talents. We published Office Guide to Tampa Bay in the early 1980’s, then Office Guides to the rest of the state. Moving to the beaches for Jordan to attend Admiral Farragut Academy contributed to all the highlights since. Our publishing efforts focused on our new home starting in 1987, and Paradise NEWS was born in 1995.

Another highlight was when Paradise NEWS got an award, and we were pictured on the cover of the Gulfport Gabber as the Greater Gulfport Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year for 2007. Magazine publishers do not often get named in the local newspaper unless they get arrested or they pass away, so it was a highlight when St. Pete Beach got its “new” bragging point and the January 4th, 2011, St. Petersburg Times article on the subject rightfully credited Renee Roos, publisher of the Paradise NEWS, with the idea and its plan for execution. Now it is a thrill each time we pass St. Pete Beach vehicles or see the new signs identifying city parks and facilities, with the bar in blue reading “Sunset Capital of Florida.”  Seeing the success of the Corey Sunday Market and the benefits to downtown SPB is also a highlight since we were instrumental in getting it off the ground. If you go to the market, say “Hi” to Renee, in front of Chill, in her new career as “The Tote Bag Lady.” Let her know if you like receiving Paradise News. Buy a tote bag or two. Keep one in each car, so you can cut out or at least cut down on single use plastic bags.

Overall, I must say we feel blessed to have made a home and careers for ourselves in the place we have come to call Paradise. People seem to love Paradise NEWS and respond to what they read and see herein, guaranteeing us an awesome lifestyle. 

One day someone will call or email to inquire whether we are ready to sell and train our replacements, so Paradise NEWS can continue to improve the lives of residents and visitors for another generation. In the meantime, we continue our efforts to make your favorite news magazine better each issue. Thanks for reading.