People: Olympics volunteer to make tracks

The Olympic torch will be carried into Park City, Utah, at noon today, heralding the start of the Winter Olympics. The games officially begin Saturday.

Among those cheering the torch as it moves along Main Street will be St. Petersburg resident Rita Gould. Gould, who holds a Ph.D. in Medieval and Renaissance literature and is the author of Pioneer St. Petersburg, taught at the University of South Florida and St. Petersburg College, is former president of the St. Petersburg Junior League and former Festival of States Sungoddess and is one of the many volunteers at the Olympics.

"It's really exciting; there are red banners everywhere, military helicopters zip along the mountains, and all along Main Street stages have been built with huge TVs," says Gould.

Originally, Rita and her husband, Gardner, thought they would be watching the games from their home in St. Petersburg. The couple, who divide their time between homes in Deer Valley and here, had rented their Utah place. After Sept. 11, the group canceled its plans to move in.

With their place available, the Goulds got into the spirit of the winter games. Rita Gould, who is fluent in Italian, took a three-day test to be an interpreter. Somehow in the Olympic officials' scramble to staff everything, her paperwork got lost, and rather than take the test over, she chose to be a volunteer. For 13 days, Gould, an accomplished skier, will be out on the mountains by 5 a.m., sometimes on skis. "I've been told one of the days will be nine hours," she says.

Like all the volunteers, Gould has been trained in security measures to screen people attending the events. Her home base will be the Utah Olympic Park.

Gould was given an official Olympic ski outfit: jacket, pants, vest and hat. She has already decided to display the jacket in her Deer Valley home once the Olympics is over.

Only one of the Goulds' three daughters will be joining them: Vanessa, who grew up in St. Petersburg. She is a criminalist for the Los Angeles Police Department, assigned to the firearms analysis unit.

Alfalfa Club makes hay

Some 600 of the most influential folks in the country (including Florida's Gov. Jeb Bush) gathered in Washington, D.C., for a strictly fun time Jan. 26 at the 89th annual Alfalfa Club dinner at the Capital Hilton.

Most of the long-standing Alfalfa traditions remained in place for the party: The event is always closed to the press, the dinner is lobster and filet mignon, and the U.S. Marine Band plays Sousa marches. The group chose its president -- Norm Augustine, former chief executive officer of Lockheed Martin -- over Champagne toasts (after all, the Alfalfa Club is named after the plant whose roots will "do anything for a drink.")

President George W. Bush was there, as were his wife, Laura, and his parents.

One member of the Cabinet, national security adviser Condoleeza Rice, was among 11 new members of the club, which didn't induct women until 1993.

Florida Sen. Bob Graham, who isn't a member, was invited to the dinner by member and former Baltimore Orioles owner Eli Jabor, but had to decline. Graham and his wife, Adele, joined other Graham family members to celebrate the 70th anniversary of their family cattle and ranch business, Graham Company at Miami Lakes.

An anniversary celebration

Former St. Petersburg resident and Citrus County landowner J. Roy Dee and his wife, Mary Ann, will celebrate their 50th anniversary Feb. 23. The couple's 12 children decided the perfect gift would be a family celebration, so they booked passage on Monarch of the Seas for a short cruise to Key West and Cancun.

The Dees, who now live on a sprawling farm which straddles the state line of Alabama and Mississippi, met up with their kids and some of their spouses in Fort Lauderdale to begin the celebration.

Roy, who was among the first babies born at St. Anthony's Hospital in St. Petersburg (on Jan. 25, 1932), grew up in the Old Northeast section, as did his grandparents, Dr. and Mrs. William Dunlap. For several years Roy and Mary Ann lived in the neighborhood before moving to their ranch in Citrus County and then to Mount Carmel, Ill., where Roy took over the oil operation of Dee Drilling.

When the state bought his more than 6,000-acre Citrus County ranch, Roy looked for other farm or ranch properties, and the spot in Alabama caught his eye. Today, daughter Annie is the farm manager, and son Mike has also joined the operation. Mike and his family are among the six finalists for farm family of the year in Alabama. Currently, the farm is vying for top honors in the state in corn and soybean production.

The other Dee children who took part in the celebration are Colleen Butterick, St. Petersburg; Teresa Salmon, Apopka; Katie Banks, J. Roy Dee III and Jean Fischer, Mount Carmel; Susie Crabb, Ocala; John Dee, St. Louis, Mo.; Sara Kroeger and Patty Dee, Seneca, S.C.; and Ellen Bass, Savannah, Ga.

The Dees also have 28 grandchildren.

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