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Clouds deny leader chance to show right stuff

Steve Stanton planned to jump with the Budweiser skydiving team as a publicity stunt, but it has been postponed until Feb. 18.

By EILEEN SCHULTE
Published February 5, 2005

LARGO - Steve Stanton walked into the little airport wearing a black leather jacket and twisting his car keys in his fingers.

Clearly, the 46-year-old Largo city manager was nervous. Was it because he was about to jump out of a plane?

"No," he said. "It's just going to be really embarrassing if we don't do it."

He had a point. Largo had hyped the stunt, sending out news releases and calling TV stations.

Stanton planned to perform a tandem leap out of a Bonanza twin-engine nine-seater with members of the Budweiser skydiving team. They would land on a giant American flag painted on the grass at Largo Central Park, all to draw attention to the 2005 Largo Music Fest slated for April 22-24.

As he dropped from the sky, a marching band would play.

Stanton looked a little sheepish.

"I didn't know it was going to be a media event," he said.

Because it's rare to see a city manager parachute out of a plane to call attention to a concert, there would be an arc of balloons and a hundred residents, officials and city employees at the park to watch him do it.

"Some are probably hoping I'll land (safely), and some are hoping I'll free fall," Stanton said, laughing.

But the weather looked awful.

There was an 800-foot ceiling, the distance between the ground and the lowest cloud layer that covers more than half the sky.

The team needed at least 2,200 feet to perform the jump.

The whole thing was Colin Bissett's idea. The Largo Cultural Center manager had heard tales of Stanton's brave adventures.

Stanton has rappelled off water towers and tall buildings. He has ridden on the back of a garbage truck. And he scuba-dives.

"I think he knows I like doing things like this," Stanton said. "Yesterday, the TAC (Police Department's tactical apprehension and control) team Tasered me."

As the group waited in the airport for news on the weather, Dr. Bruce Cochran, the captain of the Bud Team, called Bissett, who was at the park with the Fire Department, the marching band, the flag and the arc of balloons.

"He said they were still painting the stars," Cochran said. "He said whatever you do, don't land on the stars. You can land on the stripes."

Minutes later, the jump was scrapped. Instead of parachuting onto the park, the team had to get into their cars and drive there.

Some in the crowd were sympathetic.

"Hey, Steve, if you really want to jump onto that flag, we can set up the bucket," said Doug Hiatt, a firefighter.

Bissett said the city will reschedule the jump for Feb. 18.

"We're going to keep the flag," he said. "I hope no one takes their dog out there."

Eileen Schulte can be reached at 727 445-4153 or schulte@sptimes.com

[Last modified February 5, 2005, 00:56:15]