Sun City Neighborhoods, united in their celebration, marked the 25th anniversary of their community on Sunday, August 25. Despite the heat, residents, brought their chairs and contributions and participated in the community event in a show of solidarity.
The Neighborhood Advisory Council (NAC) invited each neighborhood to hold a community-wide Drinks on the Drive.
The anniversary theme, “Living Your Best Life,” was evidenced as neighborhoods across Sun City gathered in a neighborhood park, cul-de-sac, or driveway to share a meal, socialize, and have a little fun.
The NAC challenged the neighborhood to design a poster on a foam board to capture the spirit of the neighborhood. Neighbors posed for a picture of the completed poster during the event.
Neighborhood 26 pulled together the talents of neighbors to create the poster.
Noel Hannon, Neighborhood 26 rep said, “Lois Wells designed the poster, which included the Sun City 25th anniversary logo, the streets, entrance gates, and the numerous neighborhood activities. Rita Schank and Vivian Osth did the embroidery work. Bev Kenny added quilted homes. Bobbie Dieden took responsibility for neighbors identifying their homes by signing their names on the map.”
Rita Schank said, “We asked Cheryl Ross, a Sun City resident to make us shirts for the event. The shirts had a flamingo on it with our N26. We call our Drinks on the Drive ‘Flamingo.’ We also had the 25th anniversary logo and our names on the shirt.”
Joel and Candi Thuringer, hosts of Drinks on the Drive for N37, shared personal memories and connections.
Candi said, “We had sixty residents attend. Our youngest resident is Mary Jo Simonsen at 97. Our neighborhood was built in 2007-2008. Our street names are colors: Scarlet, Tawny, Copper, Russet, and Burgundy Way.”
The neighborhood poster and photo album of their neighborhood events were displayed, evoking a sense of nostalgia and warmth.
N29 hosted their Drinks on the Drinks with food, bags, and entertainment.
Donna Schnepff said, “We will have Vito Zatta performing.”
Neighborhood 10/10A took advantage of the park green space on the hill at Sweetwater and River Park to host their celebration. The spot offered beautiful trees that provided some shade on this hot day.
Marilynn Berend, lead neighborhood rep, said, “Our block captains met with our reps, Betty Pump, Diane Joosten, and myself to plan the event. Our poster highlights the actress Bo Derek as we are named ‘The Perfect Tens.’ Trish Wainscott, Pat Darrow, and Sharon Cleveland contributed to the effort. The poster also features many of our neighborhood activities.”
