When Steve and I [Chris Rich] first moved here in 1997, I took my dog for a walk on South Ponte Vedra Beach. Shortly afterward, a local woman warned me that was a no-no. She said this particular beach was a dangerous place for a woman by herself, even with…Read More

Rick and Larry were not alone. Over the next few months, twenty-three people formed the South Ponte Vedra Association. They said their first priorities were (1) law enforcement, (2) beach traffic, and (3) environmental protection. President Larry Picus said, "We do not want to be the forgotten people anymore." The…Read More

The little group of "forgotten people" had meetings at Guana dam and at members' houses. They invited local authorities as special guests. They sent petitions and delegations to county commission hearings. Their presence at a county budget meeting allowed the sheriff to provide an ATV and deputy to patrol the…Read More

SPVA member Emory Torrey was installing monitored fire alarms on his new house when he learned there was no fire service to call if the alarm goes off. He wrote to County Commissioner Herbie Wiles that he never dreamed such an affluent area would lack such a basic necessity. He…Read More

The fire protection tax bill put a few more dollars in the county fire fund, but SPVA couldn't access it unless they already had a fire department. 125 members pledged their financial support. They elected Emory Torrey as Chairman of the Fire Prevention Committee and gave him a $750 budget…Read More

More money came in thanks to letters and phone calls made by the fundraising committee, including our own Lea Lent. A Vilano resident donated a needlepoint pillow, which got raffled off. They raised $8,000 in six months.

The county fire coordinator found SPVA a used fire truck in Maryland for $2,500. He and his wife even drove to pick it up and bring it to South Ponte Vedra. But SPVA still had no garage for it. Luckily, Sawgrass Country Club agreed to protect it until SPVA had…Read More

I don't have time to tell you all the fires and emergencies our volunteers tackled. But I will tell you this one. The year after the building was finished, SPVA piled into it for a Christmas party. They barely got started when a fire call came in from the north.…Read More

Although we have focused tonight on the South Ponte Vedra Volunteer Fire Department, this organization was also very active on all of their original priorities: police protection, beach traffic, and environmental protection. Through it all, they kept a steady flow of fun times and parties. Most of us in here…Read More

This presentation is just a hint of this organization's great history. We don't have time tonight, but Amy Howard is putting it all together in a book. You can watch the progress and contribute to the story on her Ponte Vedra website. The link is on SPVCA's website. Suffice it…Read More