PEOPLE AROUND TOWN: Meet Evelyn and Kent Spears of Largo, two of
the many volunteers helping out at the recent Outback Bowl Beach Day on
Clearwater Beach. Kent belongs to the Rotary Club of Largo, which had
volunteered the services of its members for the event. photo by SANDI FAHY
Congratulations to the Countryside High School Band, which competed against 11 other bands from across the country to win the 2006 Cotton Bowl Field Show Grand Championship Award. The competition took place in Dallas in December prior to the band's appearance in the Cotton Bowl halftime show ... Best wishes for a happy retirement go to longtime Dunedin City Manager John Lawrence ... Kudos to Florida State University grad Lee Koenig, who received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in December ... Friends of Roger Dunton want him to know they are thinking of him and wishing him all the best ... The Largo Woman's Club started the new year with a luncheon meeting on January 3. Hostesses for the affair were Carol Miles, Jeanbelle Bodtke, Ann Gerges, Sonia Herbert, Helen Hungo, Alberta Maltby, Anne Marie Miller and Janice Philpot ... "Happy Birthday" greetings are in order today, January 27, for Elizabeth Heath, Barbara Vaughan, Travis McKenney, Sara Hawi, Andreana Gaudreau, James Gibson, Katherine Hugill, Phillip Dennis and Shane Bridwell ... Bring out the cake and ice cream tomorrow for Audrey Lanton, Edith Ford, Kari Childress, Robert Jefferies, David Lane, Janet Goss, Mary Armstrong, Carl Rieben, James Jenkins, Jeannette McGillivray and Kevin Kilgore ... Did you know Ruth Johnson, Jessica Sanders, Fran Everett, John Lawrence, Allison Kellum, Stacy Nethercoat, Becky Ladd, Kathy Dogali, Jill Owens, Andy Carlton, Tara Parker and Dave Martin turn a year older on Saturday? ... Joy Sturgis, Kayleigh Weber, Judy Blume, Lauren Weber, Ruth Garwood, Laura Lahm, Dorothy Rough, Jim Stevenson, Alice Bivin, Yvonne Becker, Betty Ladd, John Fleming, Mary Teller and Audrey Butsko are among those celebrating their special day on Sunday ... The birthdays of Nicole Smith, Kelly Anderson, Candy McDaniel, Colleen Turner, Mildred Whitcomb, Mike Daniels, Carolyn Wood, Roger Hughes, Joan Falk, Karri Wright and Herbert Scheffer are coming up on Monday ... Be sure to extend all best birthday wishes on Tuesday to Jennifer Warren, Henry Sanders, Hannah Heier, Charlene Smith, Nick Katte, Timothy Harrigan, Jim Flemming and Harold Lewis ... Wednesday brings the first day of February and the birthdays of Trish Shea, Peggy Gibson, Janet O'Brien, Allison Williams, Missy King, Sharon Brown, Laura Stevenson and Sandra Weber ... Just learned that the birthdays of Judy Bassick, Judy Cottrell and Jean Hamilton have come and gone. They were in December ... Congratulations to Bill and Bobbie Jahnes on their wedding anniversary, which is coming up tomorrow ... Belated anniversary congrats to Ken and Una Sunne, who marked 48 years of marriage on January 25, and Larry and Kathy Upham, whose special day was December 18 ... Anna Smith says the easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement. Have a good week, everyone.