**This is an abbreviated version. To view the full Best of Boca feature, clickhere. Note that this article was published in May 2014 and menu items/personnel may have changed in the interim.
Best “Remember the ’70s” Flashbacks
Diana Ross at Boca West (pictured)
Barry Gibb at Eau Palm Beach
Best “Remember the ’60s” Moment
The 52nd annual Boca Raton Regional Hospital Ball
Best Sudden Impact Moment
Second edition of Impact 100 Palm Beach Countyat Lynn University’s Wold Performing Arts Center
Best Rainy Day Story
Sixth annual Boating & Beach Bash for People With Disabilities at Spanish River Park
Best Beauty-Isn’t-Only-Skin-Deep Honor
Kelsey Janser’s Miss Teen National win
Best St. Elmo’s Fire Moment
Rob Lowe’s appearance at last fall’s Go Pink Luncheon
Best Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time Cameos
Loretta Swit (of “M*A*S*H” fame)
Hal Linden (“Barney Miller”)
Kip Winger (lead singer for the rock band Winger)
Robert Morse (longtime actor who scored some late-career cred with a few guest turns on “Mad Men”)
Best of Community: Teen in the Spotlight
Lizzie Sider, country music singer
Click here for the full story.
Best Money-Well-Spent Highlights
Two years after receiving the largest gift in its history—$25 million from the Marcus Foundation and its chairman (and Home Depot co-founder), Bernie Marcus—Boca Raton Regional Hospital was slated this spring to open the Marcus Neuroscience Institute.
Lynn University debuted its new soccer/lacrosse facility, Bobby Campbell Stadium, at a dedication ceremony this March that recognized donors for the yearlong project—including Campbell, who gave the university $1.2 million toward its construction.
Boca Regional broke ground in April on its Christine E. Lynn Women’s Health & Wellness Institute, three years after Lynn’s gift of $10 mil-lion to launch the project.
Henrietta, Countess de Hoernle donated $250,000 in December to the Wick Theatre and Costume Museum.Best gUArdiAn oF tHe written wordCongratulations to William Miller, dean of libraries at Florida Atlantic University for 25-plus years, for earning the highest honor bestowed by the American Library Association’s Reference and User Services Division—the Isadore Gilbert Mudge Award. Miller has overseen the addition of countless special print collections at FAU, as well as the school’s impressive Recorded Sound Archives—including the world’s largest online collection of Jewish music.
Best Senior Splash
Gage Kohner wins two individual gold medals at the Class 4A state championship—capturing both the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle events.
Locals Making a Difference
Connie Siskowski (pictured)
Jerry and Terry Fedele
Tim Snow
Michelle Rubin
Barbara Schmid
Best Use of a Non-Primary Color
Boca Raton Resort & Club’s Pink Ice Rink
Best Reason to Hail a Cab
Six Boca Looks that Must Be Stopped
1. Yoga pants outside a yoga studio
2. Men in white pants
3. 8-inch heels
4. Gucci loafers with suits
5. Tramp stamp tattoos on women of all ages
6. Robert Graham shirts on anyone but Cam from “Modern Family”
Best Foot Forward
Boca Raton High School soccer standout Tomer Bitton
Best Places for Cougar Sightings
By day: Houston’s, around 1:30 p.m.
1900 N.W. Executive Center Circle, Bcoa Raton // 561/998-0550
By night: Blue Martini
6000 Glades Road, Boca Raton // 561/910-2583
Best On-The-Waterfront Scene
999 E. Camino Real, Boca Raton // 561/368-9500
Besy Breakout Performance
Jaye Marie Green at the LPGA Tour
Four Best Signs that Boca is Cooking Again
1. Cancer Treatment Centers of America announces plans to move its corporate head-quarters from Chicago to Boca
2. After merging with OfficeMax, Office Depot ends speculation about its future in our area by announcing that it will continue to base its corporate headquarters in Boca.
3. Trader Joe’s is coming!
4. Newsmax Media expands its operations by adding a 50,000-square-foot space at 750@Park in Boca.
FAU Highs and Lows
Highs
New president John Kelly brings impressive credentials as former VP at Clemson, a school that elevated its academics during his tenure.
The College of Medicine’s new physician residency program provides doctors-in-training at community hospitals including Delray Medical Center, Boca Regional and Bethesda West.
College of Nursing Professor John Lowe receives a $2.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for research involving an after-school sub-stance abuse prevention program that connects sixth-grade Native Americans in three tribal communities.
New head football coach Charlie Partridge snags some impressive in-state talent during his first recruiting class—including All-Dade County running back Greg Howell, who rushed for 1,567 yards last year for Coral Gables.
Lows
Ex-president Mary Jane Saunders leaves behind a trail of mismanaged affairs and public relations disasters that damages FAU’s reputation.
Proposed development—part of the Innovation Village dorm/parking project—on 40 acres of the FAU natural preserve prompts outrage from environmental activists.
A Lake Worth man who worked in FAU’s libraries is arrested in December for secretly recording 13 videos in a campus men’s room—and posting several of them to porn sites.
Former head football coach Carl Pelini is fired last fall amid allegations of drug use. Pelini denies using drugs in a March interview with Sports Illustrated and says that former defensive line coach Matt Edwards made the allegations after Pelini confronted him about an extramarital affair he suspected him of having. Cue soap opera music.
