- December 4, 2025
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Erin Mason, a 27-year-old Waterside resident, was living in Washington D.C., working at a law firm until 11 p.m. each night.
She hated it.
Mason wanted a change of pace and scenery, so she moved to Waterside on June 9.
Just three days after moving to the area, she joined a group of females, LWR Girls Who Walk, for a mixer at the Good Liquid Distilling company, where they gathered instead of walking that particular day due to rain.
There she met Paige Venuto, the founder of Lakewood Ranch Girls Who Walk, and it was immediately evident that every person in the group was important.
“It wasn't that feeling when you're in high school and all the cool girls sit at the table,” Mason said. “There was a seat for everyone.”
Mason left the mixer with phone numbers of six women she met. She appreciated that her first meeting with the members felt intimate and casual. She said without the group, her social life would likely be made up of her husband Brendan and her dog Finn, a 4-year-old golden doodle.
The group just feels comfortable to her.
“There's no pressure, there's no financial component,” Mason said. “It's just a bunch of girls getting together and having fun. I want to see the sun, I want to see the beach. I want to work less hours. I want to actually enjoy life and get out and do things like this.”
LWR Girls Who Walk meet every Monday at 6 p.m. and every Thursday at 6:30 p.m. It was founded by Venuto, 25, who works as the community programs manager for Lakewood Ranch Community Activities. She moved to Lakewood Ranch when she was 11 years old and has planted her roots in the community.
“I see the need for connection, especially working hybrid, it's hard to meet people,” Venuto said. “I just figured that there's so many young women in this area, like, where are they all hiding? I wanted to find where we could meet up.”
Venuto started the group with the age range of 20s to 30s in mind, but said women of any age are welcome. The group had its first walk on March 3 with seven participants. It has grown to an average of 15 to 25 girls per walk.
There are 140 members in the GroupMe chat and they have 500 followers on Instagram (@LWRGirlsWhoWalk).
At the beginning of each walk, the group is asked an "icebreaker question" to help introduce all the members to each other. The questions can be factual and fun, such as what superpower each woman would want or what would be their new name if they could change they one they have.
Venuto said the club has been embraced by those who are fairly new to the area.
“I love how open everyone is about literally just wanting to meet new people and wanting to make new friends,” Venuto said. “It's been fun.”
Jada Carter, 21, and Sophia Dipietro, 22, traveled 45 minutes from Punta Gorda to try out the club June 30.
Dipietro discovered the group via social media and said being in the group chat and seeing the posts on Instagram convinced her to try it out.
“It looked very friendly and very easy to come to,” Dipietro said.
She said she was anxious about meeting new people, but appreciated the ice breaker that was done to break down the initial awkwardness of strangers meeting for the first time.
“Everyone came up to us and they had big, old smiles on their faces,” Carter said.
Both Carter and Dipietro said they would be back and Carter said she might just move to Lakewood Ranch.
Venuto said she was inspired by other walking groups in Sarasota, St. Petersburg and Tampa. She felt Lakewood Ranch needed something like it as well.
She said there is definitely a fitness component to the walks, but socialization is the main point. Venuto said likes that walks are held on Mondays to start off the week on a good note. Their walks are a three-mile loop at Waterside that takes an hour.
“Every time when we come back, everyone's always like, 'wow, that flew by' and that's kind of the hope,” Venuto said. “We're really just hanging out and the three miles is just a bonus.”
Venuto is pleased that members have taken their new friendships beyond the club.
“Nothing makes me happier than when I'm on Instagram and I'll see other girls at the beach or doing a happy hour and knowing that they met because of this,” Venuto said.
