JULY 2018 TAKE IT TO THE MAT A WORLD-CLASS JUDO TRAINING CENTER IN CREEK KEEPS OLYMPIC DREAMS ALIVE COCONUT CREEK LIFESTYLE • JULY 2018 LMGFL.COM • 1 PARKS & RECREATION Coconut Creek Youth Soccer ­ ­­ Drama Workshop ­­ ­ ­ ­­ National Parks & Recreation Month ­­ ­ ­ ­ ­­ ­­ For more information, call (954) 545-6670 2 • LMGFL.COM COCONUT CREEK LIFESTYLE • JULY 2018 PARKS & RECREATION Coconut Creek Youth Soccer ­ ­­ Drama Workshop ­­ ­ ­ ­­ National Parks & Recreation Month ­­ ­ ­ ­ ­­ ­­ For more information, call (954) 545-6670 COCONUT CREEK LIFESTYLE • JULY 2018 LMGFL.COM • 3 contents July 2018 • Volume 18, Issue 7 • lmgfl.com FEATURES UNITED IN 24 EXCELLENCE Ki-Itsu-Sai National Training Center in Coconut Creek molds world-class judo athletes. THE 28 GOODS Product recommendations for a fun and productive summer. MEET YOUR 33 MAYO R Get to know new Coconut Creek mayor Joshua Rydell. DEPARTMENTS 5 LIFESTYLE GREETINGS 9 MAYOR’S MESSAGE 11 AROUND TOWN 16 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Guitar Center 18 BUSINESS Docking Bay 94 20 DINING Pad ai 30 DAY TRIPPER What’s new at Walt Disney World 34 CITY VOICE Coconut Creek’s IT Department 36 #MYCOCONUTCREEK On the cover: Giovanna, Jacob Stay connected to Coconut Creek and Maia, judo athletes who 38 GREEN EXCELLENCE train at Ki-Itsu-Sai National Training Center in Coconut Patriotic plants Creek. In their respective age 39 CREEK FAMILY PD divisions and weight categories, Tips to avoid scammers all three are ranked fi rst nation- 40 CALENDAR ally by USA Judo. 42 SNAPSHOTS This page: Ki-Itsu-Sai owner Photos from the city’s third Tree Planting Jhonny Prado and coach Ger- man Velazco Ceremony and Free Tree Giveaway 46 COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT Location: Ki-Itsu-Sai National A nonprofi t promotes a life-saving law Training Center at 6855 Lyons Technology Circle, Suite 9, Coconut Creek Photos by: Eduardo Schneider Correction: The June issue gave the wrong phone number for Cookie Cutters. The correct number is 954.637.4948. 4 • LMGFL.COM COCONUT CREEK LIFESTYLE • JULY 2018 contents Lifestyle Greetings July 2018 • Volume 18, Issue 7 • lmgfl.com FEATURES UNITED IN 24 EXCELLENCE Ki-Itsu-Sai National Training Center in Coconut Creek molds world-class judo athletes. THE 28 GOODS IN IT TOGETHER Product recommendations for a fun hile preparing this month’s issue, I was inspired, as usual, by the stories of the people we’ve met and will introduce to you in the following pages. and productive summer. is month, I was struck by something German Velazco, the head coach MEET YOUR at Ki-Itsu-Sai National Training Center, said to me during our interview. 33 MAYO R e head coach at the judo training center, the subject of our cover story, coaches children and adults and helps them to be not only better athletes but better people through the Get to know new Coconut Creek W support of the center’s extended family. mayor Joshua Rydell. “I think the biggest mistake that any young [person] can make is to feel alone,” Velazco says. “ ey have to understand that they have a big family. ” DEPARTMENTS As we were getting our issue ready to press, I saw that this theme shows up in our 5 LIFESTYLE GREETINGS stories. At Docking Bay 94, a community of people from all walks of life get together 9 MAYOR’S MESSAGE to celebrate comic book heroes and play games. At Guitar Center, a community of 11 AROUND TOWN teachers and students connect through a shared love of music. At Towers with a Heart, a 16 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT community works together to raise awareness for a lifesaving traffi c law. And at Ki-Itsu- Sai National Training Center, a community led by Velazo and his brother-in-law Jhonny Guitar Center 18 BUSINESS Prado molds athletes who follow their dreams through discipline and perseverance. We put together this magazine to help readers meet their neighbors—to tell the stories Docking Bay 94 20 DINING of the communities that form our lives. e world can be dark, and life can have its share of challenges, but we’re stronger together. And we’re not alone. Pad ai 30 DAY TRIPPER Enjoy the July issue. What’s new at Walt Disney World 34 CITY VOICE Coconut Creek’s IT Department 36 #MYCOCONUTCREEK On the cover: Giovanna, Jacob Stay connected to Coconut Creek and Maia, judo athletes who 38 GREEN EXCELLENCE train at Ki-Itsu-Sai National Training Center in Coconut KEREN MOROS, MANAGING EDITOR Patriotic plants Creek. In their respective age 39 CREEK FAMILY PD divisions and weight categories, [email protected] Tips to avoid scammers all three are ranked fi rst nation- 40 CALENDAR ally by USA Judo. 42 SNAPSHOTS This page: Ki-Itsu-Sai owner Photos from the city’s third Tree Planting Jhonny Prado and coach Ger- man Velazco Ceremony and Free Tree Giveaway 46 COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT Location: Ki-Itsu-Sai National A nonprofi t promotes a life-saving law Training Center at 6855 Lyons Technology Circle, Suite 9, Coconut Creek Photos by: Eduardo Schneider Correction: The June issue gave the wrong phone number for Cookie Cutters. The correct number is 954.637.4948. COCONUT CREEK LIFESTYLE • JULY 2018 LMGFL.COM • 5 GROUP EDITOR Kevin Kaminski CREATIVE DIRECTOR Melanie Geronemus Smit EDITORIAL MANAGING EDITOR Keren Moros COPY EDITOR Jason Davis EDITORIAL INTERN Alex Fisher CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Nicole Chavannes, Jenny Cosper, Scotty Leamon, Joshua Rydell, Michelle Solomon, Sharon Vollmer, Linda Whitman CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS City of Coconut Creek, Eduardo Schneider, Evelyn Suarez CREATIVE ART DIRECTOR Alexander Hernandez 800.611.6631 ART DIRECTOR Frank Papandrea ART DIRECTOR Evelyn Suarez VICE PRESIDENT Dan Fudge (dfudge@lmgfl .com) PUBLISHER Michelle Simon (msimon@lmgfl .com) ADVERTISING ACCOUNT MANAGERS Lori Castle (lcastle@lmgfl .com) Georgette Evans (gevans@lmgfl .com) AFFORDABLE Shari Glatter (sglatter@lmgfl .com) Debby Gold (dgold@lmgfl .com) Darrelyn Leebov (dleebov@lmgfl .com) IN-HOME CARE Shannan Shepard (sshepard@lmgfl .com) DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & EVENTS Locally Owned & Operated Mariann Marinberg by Nurses & Firefighters MARKETING COORDINATOR Stephanie Muniz • Hourly/Live-In Services CHAIRMAN Gary Press • Screened, Bonded & Insured Caregivers CONTROLLER Josh Wachsman • Transportation • Light Housekeeping Coconut Creek Lifestyle • Bathing/Toileting Assistance 3511 W. Commercial Blvd., Suite 200 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309 • Meal Preparation • Alzheimer’s Specialists & More! 954.666.5300 • Fax 954.377.9479 editorial@lmgfl .com • lmgfl .com First Visit FREE! PROUD MEMBER OF Call for details. © 2018 Coconut Creek Lifestyle. Coconut Creek Lifestyle is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lifestyle Media Group and is published monthly and direct- mailed into every home in the city of Coconut Creek and every business. 754-551-5573 Presently, there are over 50,000 residents and 1,500 businesses in the city. An additional 6,000 printed magazines are bulk-dropped in and around the city at high-traffi c locations, including restaurants, banks, professional offi ces, [email protected] car dealers, food and gourmet markets and over 300 advertisers of Coconut Creek Lifestyle. Verifi ed postal receipts are available for review to guarantee veracity. The contents of Coconut Creek Lifestyle are copyrighted and may pompano-beach.actikare.com not be reproduced in whole or part without the express written consent of the publisher. Coconut Creek Lifestyle accepts no responsibility for products License #: 299994731 or services advertised herein. We reserve the right to edit, rewrite or refuse submitted material. 6 • LMGFL.COM COCONUT CREEK LIFESTYLE • JULY 2018 How can we make you smile toDAY? Jose Alberto, D.D.S. with over 10 years of experience and his team at iDental offer gentle, comfortable and state of the art dentistry. • ImplantDEJA Dentistry • Cosmetic Dentistry BLU• Cleanings • Invisalign • Low Radiation Digital Radiography • Periodontal Care • Porcelain Crowns and Bridges • Veneers • White Fillings • Full and Partial Dentures •Ad Intra-Oral Camera • Teeth Whitening NOW OPEN and welcoming new patients! 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I see arguments on Facebook, the the city in 2011, I never thought I would have the news and in real life. We have become more focused honor of writing the Mayor’s Message for Coconut on electronic devices than on each other. Regardless Creek Lifestyle. It is a true privilege to serve the of how small we may think we are, we can make a residents of Coconut Creek as mayor. Since 2015, positive change in our community. We can do that Mayor Joshua Rydell I have been proud to represent Coconut Creek in by being kind—saying something nice to a coworker, was born in Buff alo, numerous places around the county and country. holding a door, sending a thoughtful message, New York; he moved I will use this time to, hopefully, capture our bringing your neighbor’s garbage can up a driveway, to Florida after residents’ attention to relay a specifi c message smiling at someone or appreciating the person who receiving his Bachelor in each of my articles.