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Sun City Information Center Visits Spike

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By LAURA CONE The Sun

Published: February 18, 2009

Russell and Gail Kruetzman of Thonotosassa stopped by the Sun City Center Community Information Center, which is becoming one hopping place. They sat down with volunteer Ann Marie Leblanc to learn all they could about the community before taking a walking tour.
Gail Kruetzman said she is considering moving to Sun City Center because her current situation, living on Lake Thonotosassa, is not as ideal as it might sound.

"We have a big home on the lake but we can't walk around that lake because everyone has gates," Kruetzman said. "We are very active seniors and are looking for a place that is challenging physically and mentally."

John Bowker, the founder of the Information Center, said the visitor count for January at the facility was up by 34 percent from the previous year, or 284 visitors compared to 206. The higher numbers seem to be holding up as well for February, according to Bowker.

"One day last month we had 18 people in during a two-hour period," Bowker said, adding he is baffled by the dramatic jump in visits. "We don't quite know why our count is up this year over last year. We had so many people in one day we did not know how to handle it."

Bowker said the center currently has 42 volunteers. Volunteers give tours of the Sun City Center Community Association's main complex from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on weekends by appointment.

Bowker said television stations from 11 countries including France, Germany, Korea, China, Japan and Canada visited or contacted him at the center this past year during election time.

Most of the journalists who interviewed some Sun City Center residents wanted to know the answer to just one burning question: "How are you going to vote?"

Bowker said most of the Information Center visitors learn about Sun City Center through family and friends. According to his records, 17 percent of the visitors are drawn through the Internet.

Kruetzman said she has visited Sun City Center in the past for cultural events.

"We have met lovely people from Sun City Center who have said what a wonderful place it is," Kruetzman said.

Theresa Phillips of Sun City Center, the coordinator of the center, said their mission is very specific.

"We are not here to sell real estate," Phillips said. "We are here to sell a lifestyle."

Phillips has her own theory as to why the center has had an increase in visitors.

"I think it's because the cold weather up north this year is terrible," said Phillips, a former resident of Rhode Island.

For more information, call the Community Information Center at (813) 642-2044.

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