SKETCHES, SCRIBBLES & SCRAPS OF
INFORMATION ABOUT PEOPLE, PLACES
& ALMOST ANYTHING ELSE UPFRONT
Holiday Tour
of Homes
36 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE
Safety Harbor Resort Renovates Spa
Pinellas Education Foundation
| JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017
DIMITRIS SAVALAS
The Safety Harbor Resort and Spa is said to be built on
the Espiritu Santo mineral springs claimed to have been
discovered by Hernando de Soto in 1539, which he believed
to be the Fountain of Youth.
The Florida Orchestra Guild of
St. Petersburg held its preview
party to benefit the orchestra
at the Snell Isle waterfront estate
of Dr. Robert Wharton and
Bonnie Lipkowska. The Holiday
Tour, co-chaired by Anne Smith
and Bette Dolinsky, on the
following day included homes
on Coffee Pot Rivera Northeast,
Monterey Boulevard Northeast,
Brightwaters Boulevard Northeast
and Bay Pointe Drive Northeast in
St. Petersburg.
Peggy and Keith LeClerc, the owners of
International Diamond Center, invited
guests to try on million dollar diamonds
and red carpet pieces of jewelry that were
previously worn by celebrities.
International Diamond
Center’s Carats and Cars
The third annual Carats and Cars party
featured two of the world’s finest brands,
Forevermark Diamonds and Rolls-Royce
automobiles. The Forevermark Exceptional
Diamond Collection, an extraordinary array of
superior-quality diamonds above five carats,
was on display by International Diamond
Center of Clearwater and Tampa, alongside the
new Rolls-Royce Phantom Zenith Coupe and
the new Black Badge Ghost and Wraith models
at Dimmitt Automotive in Pinellas Park.
GRAM
When the Pinellas County School System told Gus Stavros about an innovative
project called Exchange City in Kansas, Gus was inspired to create Enterprise
Village, a self-contained economic education program, and the Pinellas
Education Foundation to sustain it. Over the years, the foundation has created
a wide variety of programs aimed at providing students and teachers with tools
for success such as Finance Park, Take Stock in Children, Future Plans, Youth
Connect and SAVE. Gus says the next 30 years will be even better as the free
enterprise-and-career education provided to Pinellas County students by the
foundation continues to receive financial support from the business community. 9
Paul and Ellen
Stavros helped
their father
Gus celebrate
the success of
the Pinellas
Education
Foundation,
which Gus and
their mother
Frances founded
and underwrote
30 years ago.
GRAM
GRAM
Bogusia “Bonnie” Lipkowska and
Dr. Robert Wharton opened their
Brightwaters Boulevard home for
The Florida Orchestra Guild’s pre-
Holiday Tour of Homes Cocktail
Reception benefit.
While celebrating its 90th
year in operation, Safety
Harbor Resort and Spa
has unveiled its $5 million
renovation of its ladies
plunge pool, steam room,
sauna and new wet area in
its 50,000-square-foot spa.
The spa also has a new Turkish
Hammam treatment room,
along with Vichy showers
and treatments that utilize
its exclusive Espiritu Santo
Springs Healing Waters. This
historic resort is a Florida
Heritage landmark and has
been considered one of the
best spas in the world for
almost a century.