All Physical Meet & Greets and Other Social Events Postponed at Least through Early November.  While we would LOVE to be able to physically meet again, the TC board team met in early August and determined that due to the impacts of COVID-19 and the fact that Triangle Connection is encouraging everyone to follow CDC social distancing recommendations, we have cancelled all social physical events at least through early November. We are already planning a Tea Dance in November, and hopefully we'll be able have this function and will make an announcement soon. In the meantime, we have no planned events to announce at this time. Please be safe, everyone. This virus is nothing to play with and we want to see everyone when we can meet again. Please continue to check back here for updates or visit us on FB.  And please know, we miss you all. 
Triangle Connection Board of Director Team Changes.  Your TC board of directors continues to meet monthly. To support social distancing, the team meets via a telephone conference line to conduct business while being safe. Two of our board members have decided to retire from the TC board. Shannon King was a board member for four years. We appreciate his commitment, wisdom, and great approach to business. Shannon felt it was time to rotate off to let others serve. We will also miss Chuck LeSage who has most recently served as the board’s official Secretary. Along with Shannon, Chuck helped us develop and expand our mission statement and was a great team player. We appreciate Shannon and Chuck’s service to the Triangle Connection community. When people join our board team we realize it’s not a permanent commitment and eventually they will feel it’s time to rotate off and let others carry on the work. To help TC expand our work by bringing in new people, we are announcing three new board members and one advisor to the team, as follows:


  * Darla Adams became involved in TC around the time the pandemic began but didn’t let physical distancing stop her from volunteering. She contacted TC via FB PM and volunteered to help people registrer to vote and provides 2-3 post suggestions per week for our FB page.  A native of upstate New York, Darla is the proud mom of an adult trans son and lives in the area with her husband Bert. 
  •   * Tom Harry is already a community volunteer, serving on the Central Florida HIV Planning Council that supports Lake County and surrounding areas. He has been very active in TC for over one year and loves our community and mission. Tom is a retired psychiatrist and a native of Jacksonville. He resides in the Country Club of Mt Dora. 
  •   * Edmund Mach has been a TC friend for several years and many of you already know him from Meet & Greets and Friday night cocktails at Pisces. He is a realtor supporting Seminole, Orange, and Lake County customers and brings his great approaches to business and people to our board team. Born in Miami, Edmund spent his childhood in Miami and San Diego before he started a 20 year flying career and before becoming a realtor. 
  •   * Henry Ollendick has been organizing and planning events in Mt Dora for a while. He was part of the group that helped bring Drag Queen Bingo to Mt Dora which was followed by a younger LGBTQ+ population and an organizer of the BLM peaceful march earlier this year. Henry is co-owner or the Papilio shop in Mt Dora and a leader among the downtown merchant group. With his desires for inclusion, we are excited he will help as a board advisor.  Henry is a native of Panama and lived in Key West before relocating to Mt Dora a few years ago.
  • Thank you again to Shannon and Chuck for their long and great service. You both made positive contributions for our TC community. Thank you to Darla, Tom, and Edmund for agreeing to support our TC work as board members. And thank you to Henry who will be a liaison as a board advisor to the board with his current and local outreach work. While we can’t meet physically with Meet & Greets and other social events right now, as you can see we are busy with Triangle’s planning work for the future.  Soon we will announce short and long-term priorities for TC. 























    •    https://calendar.google.com/event?action=TEMPLATE&tmeid=MGpxM2g0aDdxdHQ2c2RuNmdna2oya3R0bHYgZG1scGxvcjQ4ZzRlZ2o4b2w2Zm10ZzhpNThAZw&tmsrc=dmlplor48g4egj8ol6fmtg8i58%40group.calendar.google.com



    Weekly Social and Entertainment Opportunities in the Area

    Note for the time being all TC physical activities and events are delayed until after we get past this pandemic.  Your health and safety are our primary concern right now.  Please be safe.  One safe and weekly option is as follows:

    Virtual/Chat Cocktail Party Fridays at 5'ish.  Please join us by going to the Triangle Connection FB page and looking for the Triangle Connection Friends Chat icon (near the top of the screen-look for the blue/green icon with people) and this will take you to the TC Friends Chat page.  At the top of the page on Friday afternoons, look for the martini glass and join the party.  Pour yourself a refreshing drink first and join the party.  Cheers!  


    Events on hold are as follows:



    Pisces Rising is the location for weekly Friday cocktails, starting around 5:30 p.m. - 239 W 4th Ave, Mt Dora. This tradition of gathering at Pisces on Fridays has been going on 14+ years. 

    Two weekly breakfast groups look forward to welcoming you as follows:

     * Lake House is the place on Mondays at 8:30 a.m. - 315 N. Highland St, Mt Dora.

     * Geronimo's is the place on Thursdays 8 a.m. - 359 E. Burleigh Blvd, Tavares.

    Serendipity hosts Drag Queen Bingo weekly on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. - 144 W 5th Ave, Mt Dora. Call Serendipity at 352-729-2213 to reserve your table. "Big Mama" is always ready for show biz on Wednesdays.

    Mt. Dora Plaza Live continues to feature some great LGBTQ+ shows.  For more details see their website:  https://www.mountdoraplazalive.com/
     
    Also check out our friends at Rainbow Family & Friends in The Villages for their activities and initiatives.  Our sister organization is just down the road a few miles NW of where most of us live. Their Thursday evening event at Bonifay is incredible. More details at  http://www.rainbowfamilyvillagesfl.com/




    Other TC News:
     
    The William A. Sievert Scholarship.  100% of the donations collected for the scholarship fund go to the students.  100%.  We make this happen with the Triangle Connection organization paying all administrative fees.  For example, when you buy raffle tickets at Meet & Greets (and any other donations to TC), that money is part of  TC operating budget and about 20% of the funds annually are used to pay the administrative costs to manage the William A. Sievert Scholarship enabling all donations to scholarship to go directly to the well deserving students.  Donations:  Please make your check payable to William A. Sievert Scholarship Fund and mail to Triangle Connection, P.O. Box 382, Mt. Dora, FL 32757.  
    Lake Cares needs are greater than ever.  With TC having to cancel Meet & Greets, with the M&Gs being a major way to collect donations, and with this crisis facing our community...the needs for Lake Cares donation are greater than ever. You can drop off your donations to their office located at 2001 W. Old U.S. Hwy 441 in Mt. Dora on Mondays, Thursdays & Fridays from 9am-noon. Ruthie, their marketing manager, says items particularly needed right now are PB&J, Canned Chili, Canned Soup, Rice, Cereal, Kid-Friendly Foods, Mac & Cheese, Pastas and Sauces, Canned Beans including Kidney & Pinto & Black Beans, Canned Tuna & Other Canned Meats, Canned Fruits & Vegetables. Note: As of April 25 we hear peanut butter is very well stocked so if you want to make donations see the above list excluding PB.  You can also make donations on-line at LakeCares.org. Next month we may come up with other ways to collect your donations, but for March and early April, please feel free to drop off your donations to their office. Again, the needs are greater than ever right now. 
    Slightly Revised Mission Statement.  Recently the Board of Directors of Triangle Connection made a few tweaks to our Mission Statement.  We heard feedback from our TC friends that we needed to adjust our Mission to ensure we are truly working to be more inclusive.  The revised statement reads as follows: "The Triangle Connection is a non-profit organization which offers social and service opportunities for the LGBTQ+ community. We are focused on creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for people of all sexual orientations and genders who live, love, work, play and visit Lake County's Golden Triangle neighborhoods of Mount Dora, Eustis, and Tavares, Florida and surrounding areas." 
    OBITUARY OF PHILIP STEPHEN TOMARCHIO
           Philip Stephen Tomarchio, a resident of Mount Dora, Florida, passed away on June 15th, 2020, at age 79 after a short illness.  Philip was predeceased by his spouse Kevin H. Barnicle, his mother Josephine E. Tomarchio (nee Fusco),and his father Stephen Tomarchio.  Surviving are his brother Charles M. Tomarchio and his wife Mary Lynn (nee Ealey); nieces Stephanie Jo Tomarchio-Teague (Samuel), Christina M. Tomarchio-Manning (Eddie) and nephew Brian C. Tomarchio.  Also surviving is his dearest friend Judy Walcott (akin to a daughter), grandnieces Monica Carmen Tomarchio and Michelina Ann Sanders, grandnephew Skylar Charles Dixon and his wife Sabrina (nee Falcone), stepsister Tilda Rizzo (nee Testa) (Frank) and stepbrother Cosmo Testa (Gerri).
           Philip served over 50 years in nursing. During his nursing career Philip obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing and served as a nurse leader at various medical institutions in the Boston, Massachusetts area.  Philip had LPN licensure and then obtained his Registered Nurses Degree at Emerson College in Boston.  Philip got involved in a theater company in Boston.  He directed/staged, and ran lights.  He met Andy Graham an R.N. who was organizing a neighborhood drop-in center for the mentally ill people who were discharged from inpatient units to half-way houses.  Philip’s organizational skills helped increase the number of patients seen.  The center was called a Day Hospital where meds were administered, lunch was given and group meetings were set up to try to meet the patients’ needs.  Social Workers would establish groups to help patients improve their social skills.  Philip also nudged the Social Worker staff to find housing for patients that were living independently.  One of the many ideas that Philip initiated was to use the program as a training ground for nursing students and social workers training placement at the Day Hospital, all of which helped the patients and lightened the patient load of the RN’s and LPN.
           Philip was an early supporter and friend of The Triangle Connection, a non-profit organization which offers social and service opportunities for the LGBTQ+ community.  This organization is focused on creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for people of all sexual orientations and genders who live, love, work, play and visit Lake County’s Golden Triangle neighborhoods of Mount Dora, Eustis, and Tavares, Florida and surrounding areas.
           In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Philip’s memory to Lake Cares Food Pantry, 2001 West Old Highway 441, Suite #1, Mount Dora, Florida, 32757, or at http://www.lakecares.org.
           A celebration of life will be held at a future date in Florida.




















    Lake County Pride 2020:  Due to NOVID 19 and to ensure safety, the 2020 event has been postponed until 2021.  Please visit this group's official website for more information at
    Having trouble getting registered to vote?  Darla Adams is a new TC friend and wants to help people vote in November by registering now.  Please contact Darla at daloo915@gmail.com









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