You have probably seen a golf cart with a ladder projecting from the back roaming around the community. That’s Randy Lockhart, one of our residents who goes ABOVE & BEYOND to help his neighbors.
Randy has only lived in Sabal Springs since June 2020, but he already has quite an impressive list of contributions. He first visited Sabal Springs back in 2020 to celebrate his 60th birthday on Feb. 12, with Steve Geraci, a lifelong friend from kindergarten, who both hail from Rochester, N.Y. Randy and Beth, his wife of 22 years, returned to Bethlehem, Pa., where the two had relocated for work a couple of years earlier. After their visit, the two bought their house at 3968 Sabal Springs Blvd. online. They spent three months rehabbing their home before moving in.
Randy has two daughters from a previous marriage, Nicole and Jamie, and four grandsons ranging in ages from 2 to 7, who we all enjoy seeing on Facebook from time to time. Like most grandparents they drive north often to visit.
Randy retired in 2023 after a 30-year career with Rochester Beer and Beverage and 10 years employed by Toyota Lift Northeast. But the career he is most proud of is 45 seasons refereeing high school basketball. He also officiated college basketball from 1984 to 1994. Recently, he worked six days in a row for the Lee County High Schools and South Gulf Coast Basketball Association. This not what most of us would call “retirement.”
But retiring to work seems to be Randy’s modus operandi. Not only does he use that aforementioned ladder to do painting and other handyman jobs around Sabal Springs, but he has been involved in HOA committees and leadership ever since moving in. Randy ran for the board of directors in 2022 and as the “runner-up” in votes stepped into the vacancy created when Bob Rinehart passed away. Randy was elected for another two-year term in 2023 but resigned because of some conflicts.
Outside of board duties, he chaired the ARC committee and helped implement some much-needed adjustments, including reducing the lead time for approvals and streamlining processes.
Currently, as chair of the Contracts Committee, he has helped negotiate lower prices and better service contracts for the golf course cart rental and pool maintenance. Randy is pool certified and he has spent many mornings making sure the pumps and heaters were working properly, for which the Aquacise group is very appreciative. A pool deck contract is currently in negotiations.
Randy and Beth have a Mediterranean Cruise planned for next year when Beth retires. That’s when he says their only plans for the future are to travel. But there is no doubt that he will still be on call to help his neighbors and looking out for the best interests of Sabal Springs. Many thanks are due to Randy for going “Above and Beyond” to help our community thrive.
Going forward, The Breeze will interview other folks who consistently contribute to Sabal Springs and provide aid greater than expected.
