Safety Harbor, which celebrates its 100th birthday in 2017, has always attracted unique individuals with diverse talents. It would take a year’s worth of Creative Loafing issues to celebrate each person who encompasses the spirit of Safety Harbor, but these eight women offer a small snapshot of today’s community.
Lisa Kothe, director of the Safety Harbor Public Library, realizes that to stay current, the face of libraries must change. Under her leadership, the library is a favorite community gathering spot. “But,” she says, “our main focus is always literacy, children, and learning.”
“My goal is to give practical information on what you can use in your life right now,” says town psychic Caryl Dennis. She and Laura Dent offer ghost tours called Touching the Invisible every third Saturday of the month. Dennis created an annual holistic wellness festival, Healing in the Harbor, which will resume again this fall under a new organizer.
Laura Dent is a true concierge of the city. She can be seen leading Safety Harbor Walking Tours along Main Street while telling stories of then and now. Along with Janet Lee Stinson, Dent is also part of a successful anti-bullying campaign called One Heart, which the women are introducing to Bay Area schools and centers.
Two years ago, Stinson moved to Safety Harbor from Ontario. Besides working with Laura Dent, she teaches Journey Dance, is an author and blogger, and has recently started her own company, Best Day EVER Productions. One of her favorite projects is a commercial showcasing the city. “You have to live in a place that inspires you,” she says.
Recently elected City Commissioner Janet Hooper is director of the Mattie Williams Neighborhood Family Center. “We had 27,000 people come through our doors last year.” The Center has a food pantry, offers children’s programs, computer literacy for adults, and much more. “We touch a lot of lives,” she says. Hooper plans to represent the whole the community through her work on the commission, too.
Bobbie Wheeler and Stacy Roth helped organize the city’s first Bloom N ChalkFest in 2009. Now, as the festival’s head organizers, they are seeing continued growth. Over 65 artists made Safety Harbor sidewalks a work of art this year. Both women are on the Museum Board of Trustees. Roth, a freelance artist and active volunteer, also founded O’Gosh, a group that supports local nonprofits by gathering community volunteers.
“We live in a city that feels like a small town,” she says. “Volunteering is the best way to meet new friends.”
Laura Kepner is host of the poetry open mic at Tapping the Vine, head of the Safety Harbor Writers and Poets group, and co-author (with Warren Firschein) of the highly informative book, A Brief History of Safety Harbor, Florida. On Thursday, April 16, she will host a creative writing workshop at the Safety Harbor Museum and Cultural Center, and this fall she’ll host the first-ever Safety Harbor Writers Conference at SHAMc. Find out more at facebook.com/SafetyHarborWritersandPoets.
This article appears in Apr 9-15, 2015.
