Basilone leaves CAC after eight eventful years

 Lori Basilone’s handprint is all over Lakewood Ranch, although not in a quantifiable way.

Instead, her impacted is measured in photographs and memories.

As the longtime director of Lakewood Ranch Community Activities Corp., the organization that oversees Lakewood Ranch’s clubs and community events, Basilone has helped turn a residential development into a thriving social community.

But, Basilone is ready for something new.

She finishes her tenure with Community Activities Feb. 28, at the Lakewood Ranch Anglers Club’s annual Youth Fishing Tournament.

“I’ve done it for eight years; I’ve loved it,” Basilone said. “I’m super passionate about it. I’m happy with where it is today and where it’s taken me and the positive impact I’ve had on the community. To have been a part of that is so rewarding.”

CAC Board Chairwoman Marie Gowgiel said the organization would not be what it is today without Basilone’s leadership.

“She’s done an excellent job and she’s going to be missed,” Gowgiel said. “But, we wish her well on whatever her next endeavor is.”

Gowgiel said none of CAC’s upcoming events, including the Irish-Celtic Festival in March, will be impacted as the board searches for a new director. Volunteers work closely with Basilone to organize events, and each event has a checklist of must-dos. 

“We really don’t expect any issues,” she said. “If the residents didn’t know (she was leaving), they wouldn’t notice. The residents of Lakewood Ranch can be confident the transition to a new director is going to be seamless.”

Anyone attending a Community Activities event in Lakewood Ranch cannot help but see Basilone’s handiwork. She carried on many established events, but also created and built new ones, such as the Irish-Celtic Festival, the Italian Festival and Club Day. 

With the help of volunteers, she transformed the Holidays Around the Ranch event from an evening of hot cocoa and photos with Santa at Lakewood Ranch Town Hall to a festival with ice skating, Santa on a horse-drawn carriage and other festivities that thousands of people attend each year. And, to cap it off, Basilone on Feb. 19 received notice from the state that Community Activities had received its 501c(4) status — that of a social not-for-profit. Basilone has been waiting for the news since applying for the status last summer.

“The timing of it was so cool,” she said. “I thought that was one of the big, main outstanding projects I haven’t been able to (finish).”

Basilone’s departure from Community Activities follows that of her husband, Mike, who retired from his role on the operations team for the Inter-District Authority Feb. 19; it was his third time retiring.

The couple sold their longtime home in River Club and purchased a maintenance-free condo in Tidewater Preserve. 

The couple has been discussing retirement for about a year.Basilone said working nights and weekends has begun to conflict with family events, such as weddings, births and baptisms.

Basilone calls her departure from Community Activities more of a sabbatical than retirement. She plans to begin working again, but not until she’s had time to visit family and possibly travel across the country with her husband over the summer.

She expects she may shift her career toward marketing when she rejoins the workforce.

“We don’t see ourselves sitting by the pool or golfing every day,” Basilone said. “We have to be involved in something.”

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].