Val Thomopalos pounds the pavement organizing a Land O'Lakes run/bike/swim event, bringing a disparate community together with each hand she shakes.
By STEPHEN HEGARTY
Published April 18, 2004
LAND O'LAKES - Val Thomopalos holds up a clunky, three-ring binder and pulls out a list of business and community leaders who are fast becoming her best buddies.
"Look at the people on this list," she says. It contains a few dozen names, phone numbers and T-shirt sizes. "This is an amazing group of people, and they all want this to happen."
Thomopalos, 45, is the force behind an effort to hold Land O'Lakes' first triathlon - a run/bike/swim event planned for August.
The event planning is ambitious enough. She's working out agreements with the county and the Sheriff's Office, getting commitments from sponsors and volunteers.
But as Thomopalos is discovering, it also has become an effort at providing some glue and focus in a fast-growing, increasingly diffuse community that resists being one of Tampa's suburban appendages.
The mother of three and triathlon veteran envisions more events in the future. She wants to establish an ongoing organization called "Athletes Who Care" that would raise money for charity and community needs. The club also would help area athletes and would-be athletes train, race and socialize together.
If the event is a success and the group thrives, it will say something about the fitness level of a good number of residents. It could say even more about the status and future of a community in the act of redefining itself.
"Land O'Lakes is growing like crazy, but there's still something homey about it," says Thomopalos.
"I don't think the community was ready for this five years ago," she says. "There's so many people here now, and a lot of them don't even know they have all these things in common."
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Several months ago, Thomopalos set out to see what kind of support her idea had. She made phone calls and showed up in people's offices unannounced. More than a few times the reaction was one of polite puzzlement.
"I figure people have feet, they can kick me out if they want to," Thomopalos said.
Eventually she found that lots of people were ready to embrace her idea.
One day she showed up at the office of a Land O'Lakes lawyer who happens to be on the Central Pasco Chamber of Commerce board.
"She came in here and started talking about a triathlon, and it just so happens I'm planning on doing my first triathlon," said attorney Tim Hayes, a former college swimmer. "We had a lot to talk about."
Hayes is now on Thomopalos' board, referred to as a "triathlon lawyer."
Thomopalos is a very fit, 5-foot-7 bundle of energy. She has a handshake that could crack walnuts. When she plans to meet with people - she has been doing that a lot lately - she arranges to meet face to face when possible.
When she approached the Pasco Sheriff's Office about traffic control and security at intersections, she ended up speaking with Capt. Rick Neal of the SWAT team. He's a triathlete, as are several SWAT team members who will compete in the event. Arrangements are in the works for the Sheriff's Office to provide orange traffic cones and handle intersections.
Pasco Parks and Recreation Director Jim Slaughter has opened lots of doors for Thomopalos. The event will be held at the Land O'Lakes Recreation Center on Collier Parkway.
When Thomopalos needed to arrange for parking near the recreation center, she approached the principal at nearby Lake Myrtle Elementary. It turns out that principal John Abernathy is an accomplished marathoner. He has done two triathlons and is training for his third. He and Thomopalos had plenty to talk about. Now, not only will athletes be able to park at the school, but schools will promote the triathlon as a family event.
"You hear all these things about kids and fitness; people are becoming so conscious of their health," Abernathy said. "I'll be encouraging kids and their families to get involved."
Even with the happy coincidences and enthusiasm she has encountered, Thomopalos' plan has plenty to overcome.
She's creating something from scratch. Bureaucracy and fundraising are never easy. (The group has a goal of raising $60,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society as well as Pasco County Parks and Recreation. A sign in front of the Recreation Center will mark progress toward the goal.) Veteran organizers point out that even the smallest detail, if left unattended, could throw an event into disarray.
"You come to realize, this thing is a beast," she said.
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The sort of event and ongoing club Thomopalos has in mind tends to thrive in larger cities or college towns - places like Boulder, Col., San Francisco, Boston or even Gainesville and St. Petersburg. If things go well, the groups start small and slowly grow.
Central Pasco isn't a city or a college town. It's an unincorporated area full of newcomers with no local roots. It doesn't even have clear boundaries marking where it begins and ends.
One thing in Thomopalos' favor is the growth in the central Pasco area - especially the kind of growth.
Triathletes tend to be 30-something adults (40 percent), or those approaching middle age (26 percent), with college educations and better-than-average income, according to demographic information collected by the USA Triathlon organization. That's also a pretty good description of the emerging central Pasco demographic as more and more families move in to pricier homes.
"This area is growing up," said Lake Myrtle principal Abernathy. "It has a pretty sophisticated group of people, and I think people really want to get in shape and meet other nice people."
If there is a model for "Athletes Who Care," it could be St. Petersburg's well-established Mad Dogs. Thomopalos hopes to develop close ties to the group.
Mad Dogs started in 1993 with 20 local members. Now the group hosts several major events every year, and members routinely train, race and party together. The Mad Dogs include many serious veteran athletes and lots of less serious newcomers who want to get in shape. The USA Triathlon organization lists the Mad Dogs as the fifth-largest registered triathlon club in the nation, with 1,200 members.
Thomopalos has long-term goals way beyond the one-day Aug. 7 event, which is actually four races of varying distances. The evening of the event there will be a party at Saddlebrook Resort with dinner and dancing.
In addition to charitable fundraising, the group intends to raise money to buy a "blanket" to heat the swimming pool at the Land O'Lakes Recreation Center, which goes unused much of the year.
Thomopalos is approaching the planning as she would an early morning 50-miler on her Cannondale bike with a group of training partners.
"I never said we were fast," Thomopalos said. "But we keep at it, and we get to the finish."
- Stephen Hegarty covers central Pasco news. He can be reached at 813 909-4602 or toll free 1-800-333-7505, ext. 4602. His e-mail address is hegarty@sptimes.com
