- December 13, 2025
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When Ed Van Stedum showed up to this year’s Youth and Teen Fishing Tournament on Lake Uihlein at 6:30 a.m., he was sure he would be the first to arrive, but he was wrong.
Keith Pandeloglou, Paige Venuto and Danielle Bugel already were by the lake and they told him that coffee was on the way.
“Their heart is in their job,” Van Stedum said of the Lakewood Ranch Community Activities team. “It blew me away they would be there so early and be so dedicated to the success of these events.”
Van Stedum organizes the fishing tournament each year for the Lakewood Ranch Anglers Club, one of over 60 clubs under the umbrella of LWRCA.
The appreciation goes both ways.
On Nov. 6, LWRCA hosted the Community Appreciation Awards: 25 Year Anniversary Edition at Gold Coast Eagle Distributing.
Van Stedum won the Leroy Smith Volunteer of the Year award. He has no idea who nominated him, but said it was a pleasant surprise and a lot of fun to give back.
Pandeloglou is the CEO of LWRCA and was the emcee for the evening. When it came time to award the Group/Club of the Year award, he called the Friends of the Lakewood Ranch Library a “powerhouse.”
That descriptor speaks to both the group’s fundraising prowess and the tenacity of its members.
Before raising over $410,000 to stock the library’s shelves with books, the group had to first convince commissioners to build a library.
President Sue Ann Miller said it took a strong two-year advocacy effort to get commissioners to vote 6-1 in favor of the Lakewood Ranch Library in 2021. The group rallied residents to write emails, make phone calls and show up to commission meetings.
The library opened in January 2024, but the group continues to advocate for all Manatee County libraries and fundraise for the Lakewood Ranch branch.
Because LWRCA is celebrating its 25th anniversary, there was one very special award created for this year's ceremony — the Don O’Leary Lifetime Achievement Award.
O'Leary, a former East Manatee Fire Rescue commissioner, died in January. He advocated for more fire stations upon moving to Lakewood Ranch in 1997.
"We named this award after Don O'Leary because he embodied everything that we stand for — service, integrity and a relentless commitment to building community," Pandeloglou said.
Kelly Gilliland, vice president of Horizon Mortgage Corporation, was given the honor for embodying "that same spirit of gratitude, resilience and generosity every day."
As the commercial sales manager for Lakewood Ranch from 1995 to 2000, Pandeloglou said Gilliland “helped guide the creation of Market Street, Corporate Park and some of the first commercial landmarks that set the tone for what our town would become.”
Gilliland is also a former executive committee member for the Lakewood Ranch Community Foundation and is a current board member for the Sarasota Tiger Bay Club.
