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Her 20 years of service on the County Commission, particularly for the elderly, earn her praise as a "role model'' for women in politics.
By CHASE SQUIRES
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 17, 2001
DADE CITY -- A reception and dinner for retired County Commissioner Sylvia Young served double duty Tuesday, drawing a host of friends she met in her political career to raise money for the ongoing effort to build a senior center and community theater in town.
Young retired from county politics last year after 20 years on the County Commission. Community Aging & Retirement Services helped sponsor the event to thank her for years of service to the county's senior population, CARES director Bill Aycrigg said.
"Sylvia has done so much over the years," he said. "We wanted to thank her for her work on behalf of all the elders in Pasco County."
Held downtown at Lunch on Limoges, the reception was decorated with photographs and mementos of Young's life in east Pasco with a "This Is Your Life" theme.
Photos showed Young, 62, growing up on her family's home in Darby, then on through high school and into adulthood. Among the mementos: a certificate of appreciation for her work as head cashier for a grocery store, the job she held just before she won her County Commission seat in 1980.
From there, the photos showed Young meeting and working with a who's who of politics, including President Clinton, Sen. Bob Graham, the late Gov. Lawton Chiles and current Gov. Jeb Bush.
A letter from state Sen. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Brooksville, congratulated Young for her years of service, calling her "a role model for other female elected officials to emulate."
Aycrigg said fundraising for the proposed CARES senior center and community theater at the site of the old Crescent Theater is moving ahead as volunteers struggle to raise money for the center.
Barbara Friedman, president of the Heritage Arts Center Association that is also deeply involved in the theater effort, said volunteers have had great success raising money from individual donors, but they are still trying to involve a large corporation or foundation to help make the project a reality.
Aycrigg said the project's board of directors meets this week, and while the goal of $290,000 in private donations for the $1.3-million project is still nearly $170,000 away, he is confident the project's board will extend the fundraising deadline and large donors will step up to fill the gap.
Either way, he said, state money already has been secured to ensure construction of the senior center portion, and if it takes a little longer to build the attached community theater, that won't detract from the achievement.