Longtime CDD supervisors retire

Lakewood Ranch Community Development District 1 supervisors bid farewell to the board’s longtime chairwoman, June Stroup, at their meeting Oct. 20.

Stroup, who has served on the board for 16 years and began attending district meetings while it was still developer controlled, did not seek reelection for her seat, up for a vote in November.

Lakewood Ranch Town Hall Executive Director Anne Ross presented Stroup with a bouquet of flowers in a crystal vase etched with Stroup’s name and details about her service to the community.

“We all appreciate her hard work and dedication to grow Lakewood Ranch into the vibrant community it is today,” Ross said. 

Stroup, fighting tears, said her time on the board has been “fun.” She had moved from a 200-year-old town to Lakewood Ranch, when it was just beginning.

“It was an awesome experience,” she said. “We saw it grow and we helped it grow.”

In CDD 2, supervisors bid farewell to supervisor Dick Moran, who has served on the board for the last five years. He has worked with his district’s homeowner’s association closely since moving to the community more than a decade ago. 

Ross presented Moran with a photograph of a sandhill crane that he took and was hanging on the walls at Town Hall.

Fellow supervisor Pete Bokach commended Moran’s “cool headedness” and desire to “do right.”

“That’s an important guide post for all of us,” he said. “You really don’t serve on a board unless you want to make the community better and Dick always epitomized that.”

Donal Aviolo will assume Moran’s seat. Moran also is retiring.