Yankee Trails

01 yankeetrails.com | 352.633.4643 The Villages ® Community, FL | November 2016 former service and parts manager with Chrysler with 40 years of experience, Lee moved to Florida in 2004. Throughout his career, Lee has been proud to hold jobs with organizations that are deeply involved in philanthropic efforts. Now as a resident of The Villages for seven years, Lee has kept that spirit going as President of The Villages Parrot Head Club. "Parrot Head," is a term used to describe the devoted fans of Jimmy Buffett. Buffett himself inspired the term, noting the similarities between his followers and the fervent fans of the Grateful Dead, who are known as "Deadheads." Now, Parrot Head Clubs exist all over the planet, but The Village's holds a special distinction. "We are the largest Parrot Head Club in the world," Lee said proudly. "We have 1,600 members and have held that title for six straight years." The Villages Parrot Head Club offers no shortage of entertaining events to amuse its many members. The group offers them access to monthly getaways, including cruises and trips to all-inclusive resorts. In addition, the club hosts multiple social gatherings closer to home, called 'phlockings,' featuring live musical entertainment and plentiful Jimmy Buffett covers. When Buffett himself performs nearby, the Parrot Heads organize trips to see him play as well. But it isn't all margaritas and 'cheese- burgers in paradise' for the Parrot Head Club. In fact, the primary mission of the club centers around it's many philanthropic efforts that benefit local charities, all of which are located within 25 miles of The Villages. "Our members combined for a total of over 9,000 hours of volunteer work, and raised $250,000 for local charities last year," said Lee. "We've found that people are drawn to the group because of our measurably positive impact in the community. The party is just icing on the cake." Even more impressive is the fact that simply volunteering isn't enough for The Villages Parrot Head Club. "Our Board of Directors and Charity Committee works very hard to ensure that our charity efforts have the biggest possible impact on the community," explained Lee. "We stay away from major organizations and focus on smaller local groups where we can do the most good." For example, The Parrot Heads hosted its annual golf tournament this September to benefit the local hospice. Not only is this a fun event for attendees, it also raises between $25,000-$30,0000 each year for the cause; just another example of how The Parrot Head Club does everything it can to give back to the community. CLUB OF THE MONTH NOVEMBER FEATURE The Villages Parrot Head Club We at Yankee Trails continue to be amazed by the incredible number of fun, creative clubs and organi- zations within The Villages com- munity. In an effort to get to know you all, each month, we will be taking the opportunity to feature one of these groups in our "Club of the Month" column. This month, we had the chance to sit down with Lee Caron, President of The Villages Parrot Head Club. A If you'd like to be considered for an article in one of our upcoming issues, contact our agency manager Mike Rogers at mrogers@yankeetrails.com.

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