You don't have to agree politically, socially or religiously to just be 'neighborly.'  But knowing who lives close to you or even a few blocks away, across the river or across the beachside to the ocean, is a group of geographically aligned residents whose stories are kept private, creating a venue to get to know each other through said stories and events. 

In celebrating 8 years of this publication, here are some stories of those who have "connected." 

My friendship for the last few years with David Slick was 100% because of an article my wife spotted in the magazine. David was pictured with a large fish he caught in Brazil, and Mari suggested reaching out to him through the publication to introduce myself. We set up a meeting and talked about our fishing escapades. I invited him to join my group, which he did, visiting Amazonia, and we have been great friends ever since.

Paul and I have formed a great relationship with Jim and Susan from Rod’s carpet. Jim and Paul are brothers from another mother and Susan and I are sisters from another mister! We first met at a sunset social on John Anderson and consequently have met at many more. We now call each other on a regular basis; in fact, we are meeting them tonight for sushi. We thoroughly enjoy their company and look forward to many more adventures with them. Thank you to “The Stroll” for bringing us together.

 

We've developed a very nice relationship with Tyler & Caleb Corson via the Sunset Socials and WOW. Caleb joins Alice & me for golf, and we share meals frequently at both homes. They are teaching us to play Rummikub, and we are helping them learn a card game called Shanghai Rummy.

In life, change is inevitable. Sometimes it’s effortless, and sometimes it demands a significant amount of work and patience. For my family, many life changes occurred in 2013. We moved from Atlanta to Ormond Beach and then afterward experienced three moves in three years. Our survival mode became “making connections."

 

The final move landed us in a neighborhood that was linear as opposed to “culdesac” so making connections with neighbors was a bit challenging. Then I met Edee Dalke, (heaven sent).

 

Stroll magazine acts as a catalyst for making connections with next-door neighbors and residents in Ormond Beach who share the commonality of waterfront living. The plethora of social events, luncheons, and spotlight features have made all the difference with connections in our new town. We have formed many close friendships, found travel buddies, and developed a dependable network of commerce.

 

Hey folks, we cannot take possessions with us when we depart this earth. BUT, we can leave a legacy of love behind when we make connections. Thank you, Stroll.

Connections? Friendships? What a question! From our perspective, yes to both. Our

experience with the magazine can only be described as “special." The magazine has brought us together with our neighbors, sharing experiences, and good times and creating new friendships.

Through Edee and the magazine’s various events, we have met some terrific people and

received some great referrals.

Some names come to mind right away. Tyler Corson, a gifted writer with such a positive

attitude. She has to be gifted to make us look really good in the article she wrote about Pat and

me. Mel Stack set time aside for us to do some legal work that we needed to do. Richard Holman recommended a sea wall repair company we hired. My new neighbor, Randy Keen wants me to teach him how to fish our home waters. Finally, let’s not forget Alice and Mike. Last year at our sunset social they were leprechauns and stopped traffic on John Anderson. This year they got engaged in my living room for Valentine’s Day. Is it special? You bet!

I moved to Ormond in the spring of 2018 from New Jersey.  I did not know anyone here except for my fiancé Tim.  I was born, raised, and lived my entire life in NJ where I had several groups of very good friends in addition to many close acquaintances.  Before moving to Ormond Beach I thought it would be easy to meet and make friends only to discover that once your children are grown and your place of work is in another state, it is not that easy to meet people and make friends. So I started looking for organizations to join, and to my delight, I found Stroll, or maybe Stroll found me. I attended several Women of Waterfront lunches in 2019 and just as I was starting to feel comfortable and make some friends in 2020 - well we all know what happened, Covid. There went my entire very small social life.  It was pretty crummy being far from my family in NJ and not being able to see my WOW ladies.  

 

Fast forward to 2021 when we started our WOW lunches again.  After not being social for so long, I think we were all so very grateful to see each other again and to make new friends.  I will never forget one lunch in particular, it was at the Tipsy Taco.  Nancy Lohman sat next to me. We had an immediate connection and talked the entire lunch. Nancy had moved here from Georgia over 25 years ago and still remembered how it felt to move to a new area and not have any friends.  She took me under her wing, invited me to several functions and introduced me to her friends. I immediately had a special connection with one friend in particular, Bridget Bergens.

These ladies are now two of my most cherished friends. Without Stroll, I would never have met them and the other WOW ladies that I am blessed to call my friends. 

Before moving back to the Daytona Beach area I worked for 32 years in Maryland. In Maryland, I knew everyone on our street and we got together once a month to enjoy each other‘s company. We knew all the children on our street. One day, I got a phone call from two neighbors who asked me if my daughter was OK because they noticed that she had walked home from school that morning.   My daughter was fine, but I learned that the neighbors were looking out for her and she wouldn’t be able to get away with skipping school. 

Although I grew up in Daytona Beach and Holly Hill, when I moved to Ormond Beach I knew none of the neighbors who lived on my street. I did not even know my next-door neighbors, Dick and Helen Faucette. This all changed when the Waterfront Life (Now called "Stroll" as a national re-brand) newsletter featured my neighbors on the cover each month. 

  
I learned how much in common I had with my neighbors.  I learned about their family and their travels.  It was fun getting to know them at out Sunset Socials. At one of the socials I met Tyler Corson.  I told her that my daughter had invited me to a family reunion in California. It would be a celebration for my son’s birthday and a chance to see my granddaughter in a volleyball tournament. I told Tyler I did not want to go. It was just too far.

Tyler told me that if I did not go, I would regret it for the rest of my life.  If I had not met my neighbor, Tyler, I would probably not have gone to the family reunion, and she would be right.  I would have regretted it for the rest of my life. We went to the Manhattan Beach comedy club. The whole audience sang Happy Birthday to my son, Jonson. It was the best surprise birthday party ever.
 
I wrote a cover story about Dick and Helen Faucette and we have become best friends as well as next-door neighbors. She had a cement path created between our houses. When I suffered a broken back, she brought me a present of two grabbers because I could not bend over to pick up anything that fell on the floor.  I thanked her for the grabbers, but I said I didn’t really need two.  She of course knew that I did because the first time I used one grabber I dropped it on the floor and used the other grabber to pick it up. Helen is wise as well as beautiful.

The Stroll Waterfront magazine has allowed us to get to know members better in our community. Being new to Ormond Beach, we feel fortunate that we found this venue to help us become acquainted with our neighbors. The magazine, for me, has been a storehouse of connections with different types of information under one cover. Not only did it expand our social links but it also has served as a resource for local vendors and services.

The articles on members in our community have opened doors to new friends and relationships. The articles provided a means to discover common ground and helped us to form new ties. For me personally, it has afforded me a vehicle to approach a perfect stranger, at a social event, and begin a conversation based on the article I read on them. 

That was the case how I got to know Alice and Mike. I was at my first sunset social, not really knowing anyone, but the fact that I had really enjoyed the article on them, gave me the confidence to approach them and begin a conversation. The results have now led to a lasting friendship. It’s always exciting to read our monthly magazine and learn about the new members being featured. Having the opportunity to interact with many of them at social events is the “icing on the cake."

I moved here 5 years ago and a wonderful monthly magazine came at the beginning of every month!  I leafed through it and even used some of the advertisers while remodeling my home. 

Then the dreaded Covid hit full force and I didn’t meet anyone.  Except for a few close neighbors.  Fast forward 2 years...

Covid behind us and the magazine advertised a free party at The Beach Bucket, thinking, what have I got to lose? I sent in my reservation.  When I got there, walking very gingerly on the wet drive,  a lovely lady took my arm and said, “May I help you”?  That was Edee, and she took me to get my name tag and then straight to Nannine Dahlen. Nannine and I hit it off right away and became best friends! She introduced me to people, took me to lunches, and sunset socials, and even interviewed me for a magazine article, Stroll Magazine, August 2022!

Through my friendship with Nannine I got to go to Paris with a group of wonderful women. 

I love Nannine and the people I have met through her and the magazine, connecting great people with great people!

 

WOW!  How do I even begin to say how Stroll Magazine has brought so many new and cherished friendships into my life, as well as into Steve’s?  There is no way we would have been able to meet all the wonderful residents on the river and beach without it. I would love to share names and photos of all the events and special outings we have enjoyed with the friends we have made through Stroll. However, we were asked to keep it to a minimum! 
Steve and I look forward to many more wonderful years of camaraderie with those we have met and those we have yet to meet. Cheers!