There was a Senior Club that met on Thursdays at the Satellite Beach Civic Center and were social in nature. That club ran for many years until attendance dropped and it dissolved in the 1990’s. The Recreation staff always knew a Senior Club was needed for our community.
The Recreation office, on Cinnamon Dr., was vacated in 1997 due to a building safety concern and was relocated to the Teen Zone. The Teen Zone had been earlier renovated through community efforts and was being rented by the landowner to the P.A.L organization. The recreation office “borrowed space” there when their offi ce was removed from the Cinnamon Dr. location.
In 1998, a referendum was held to build a recreation complex at the SB Sports and Recreation Park. The price tag was ridiculous, and the referendum failed. Kerry Stoms,
then recreation director, brought together those who supported the park and those who did not to discuss what adjustments needed to be made. The consensus was, lower the
cost, locate an existing building and it would be supported. The City was also hearing that the P.A.L landlord may not renew the lease for the Teen Zone. Since this old building/plaza already had all the infrastructure in place, the City chose to purchase the entire complex. In 2001 Marty Hindsley came into the Recreation offi ce and asked, “Why don’t you have a senior citizen organization”? Good question. It was always the intention of the Recreation Dept. to help organize a new senior club. A few weeks later, another individual by the name of Phyllis Principe’ asked the same question. This could not be a coincidence, perhaps divine intervention?! Together, Marty and Phyllis, along with Recreation staff, formed the original blue print that would launch a new senior club. When the DRS Center was open in 2002 a meeting was held to discuss forming a senior club.
Officers were nominated and a decision was made to name the new club, “The 55+ Club of Satellite Beach”. The committee started the process of creating a Mission Statement, By-laws and Activities. A kick-off luncheon was planned for Dec. 2002 and registered 140 new members and in 2003 the board registered the club as a 501C7. All seniors 55 and up were welcomed and membership was NOT limited to Satellite Beach residents.
Marty knew that this club could not run by itself nor could he run it alone, so he surrounded himself with people of like interest. Many activities were added to the club’s menu and the biggest request was Bingo!! Marty’s mantra was to look at the club like a big pie. The pie represents the club and each slice of that pie represents a club activity. One BIG slice of that pie became Bingo. Bingo required the club to follow specific rules, among those are Brevard County Gaming Laws. One rule states that ALL players MUST belong to a non-profit organization in order to play. Bingo could not, would not exist without it being part of that “pie”! None of our activities could stand alone and could not run on their own without support of the club as a whole.
Interests have begun to vary now with more members joining between the ages of 55 to 65 and we want to offer programs that this age group will enjoy, but we can’t do it alone. Team up with a friend and help add something new to the club’s list and become a piece of that big pie!