Thursday, October 25, 2012

Live, Laugh and Play at On Top of the World Communities

Enjoy spacious, beautifully furnished
accommodations during your stay.

The Visitation Program is the perfect way for prospective new residents to experience life at On Top of the World Communities in Ocala, Florida.  Why settle for just a brief tour when you can LIVE the lifestyle of a resident for 3 days and 2 nights?

During your visit, you’ll stay in a comfortable and beautifully furnished two-bedroom villa, with all the comforts of home…no cramped quarters here.  Enjoy spacious accommodations; our villas range from 1,400 to almost 1,800 square feet and each has a screened lanai. 


Take your very own golf cart around the
community.
For your convenience, every guest villa has its own golf cart, the most popular form of transportation here at On Top of the World, so you may enjoy exploring the community. Take the golf cart anywhere you choose, to golf, fitness facilities, entertainment, grocery stores, restaurants, retail and more. And when you’re ready to go back to the villa, just park it in the garage and charge it up for the next day.

On Top of the World residents fill their schedules with a variety of activities and interests.  During your stay, you can do as much or as little as you like.  Play golf at Candler Hills Golf Club, tennis at the Arbor Club or card games at the Health & Recreation Center. Visit the weekly Farmer’s Market on Thursdays. Attend a life-long learning class at Master the Possibilities Education Center. Use state of the art fitness facilities. Relax with a salon or spa treatment at The Ranch Fitness Center & Spa. Dance the night away on Friday or Saturday night at The Town Square. Take in a live concert by top name entertainment at the Circle Square Cultural Center.

Our professional sales counselors will guide you through a tour of On Top of the World and our model homes, helping you determine which neighborhood and home design best suits your lifestyle.  Keeping your best interests in mind, they will assist you in finding the perfect home at a great price. 

So begin the process today of calling this award-winning, amenity-rich community your next home and make plans now to enjoy a 3-day/2-night stay for only $129* per couple. See the VISIT US page at www.OnTopoftheWorld.com for more details.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

The Importance of Custom Club Fitting

On Top of the World Communities sports a professional golf team that can assist the golfer with any of his or her needs from apparel to custom fit equipment to personalized group or individual instruction.

Custom club fitting is one component of the superior customer service offered by the golf department at On Top of the World Golf Club and Candler Hills Golf Club. Often, a golfer assumes that directional issues of ball flight are caused by incorrect swing techniques. While this is sometimes the case, the more likely culprit is an improper lie angle of the golf club or a shaft flex that needs to be changed. Through the use of the PING and Cobra fitting charts, the golf professional will provide you with the correct equipment specifications to quickly drop strokes off your game.

Many people believe to increase distance off the tee, they need to switch to a driver with less loft. However, usually just the opposite is what is prescribed for most golfers. With the use of a speed or launch monitor, the golf professional can demonstrate the difference in distance achieved by increasing trajectory on the golf ball. By taking advantage of demo drivers, fairway metals and hybrids  the golfer can "test drive" equipment to see what produces the most desired ball flight and distance combination.

Putter fitting? This is an area most golfers never think about, but the putter is the club that is used for the majority of the strokes in a round of golf. Let the fitting putter prove what a difference a lie angle and/or length adjustment can make in creating a repetitive stroke.

See how your game can improve by using equipment that was custom fit to your swing motion by visiting a golf professional at On Top of the World Golf Club or Candler Hills Golf Club.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Fitness Challenge Champions

by Cammy Dennis


I was overwhelmed with delight as 48 On Top of the World Communities (OTOW) residents wearing their "Fitness Challenge Champs" t-shirts arrived for a group photograph in celebration of a tremendous wellness accomplishment. This year's Summer Fitness Challenge had 124 participants with 94 reaching their destination goal!

The OTOW Health & Recreation Center's Summer Fitness Challenge is a simple one...pick one of three destination options and start logging the miles that are achieved from cardiovascular activity. The destination mileage choices were 150 miles, 300 miles or 500 miles. Five miles are awarded for every 30 minutes of cardiovascular activity completed in the fitness center. The participants had all of July and August to log their miles...meaning the 500-mile champions logged 50 or more hours during the 2 month span! 

Here's how the goal destinations break down on an average weekly exercise duration:

  • 500 mile goal = approximately 5.5 hours per week of cardiovascular activity.
  • 300 mile goal = approximately 3.5 hours per week of cardiovascular activity.
  • 150 mile goal = approximately 2 hours per week of cardiovascular activity.
Jack and Jean Hester are relatively new OTOW residents and they both completed the fitness challenge. Jean, who is admittedly a competitive person, chose the longest distance. "I want 500!" were her exact words. Her husband Jack participated in the challenge because she wanted to do it. Jack was slightly less ambitious than his wife and set his goal at 150 miles. Jean said, "The challenge was fun and I got to meet a lot of people." She noted that the fitness challenge helped her to focus and commit to a regular routine and coming to the fitness center for exercise. 

Carolin Packard is a seasoned participant having completed the challenge two years in a row. "I like the motivation of the challenge," she said. Carolin also appreciated the flexibility in the program noting, "because I could choose from any of the cardio equipment, the workouts didn't get boring."

Jeanette Lind was a first time participant and stated, "I exercised more because of the challenge." She too enjoyed the camaraderie and encouragement of her fellow participants saying, "The fitness center was a great meeting place."

Sandy and Don Martin were also first time challengers with Sandy saying, "We are in the gym working out anyway so why not set a goal and earn a t-shirt! The challenge was extra motivation for us."

There's no doubt after the success of this year's challenge in participants and goals, next year's competition will be bigger and better!


Cammy Dennis is the Fitness Director for On Top of the World Communities and The Ranch Fitness Center & Spa.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

"Do I need my air ducts cleaned?"

by Robert Colen

A frequently asked question we hear from residents of On Top of the World Communities (OTOW) is, "Does our home need its air ducts cleaned?" This question usually arises after an air conditioning technician visits a home for routine maintenance on the unit.

Over the past year, we have alerted OTOW residents about the trend of air conditioning contractors who make a living by scaring residents into purchasing unnecessary equipment and duct cleaning. In fact, just this month, we heard from a resident who was convinced by her air conditioning technician that she needed to pay $1,000 to clean "mold" from her ducts. Dennis Hisey, OTOW's State Licensed Mold Assessor and Mold Remediator, met with the homeowner and provided his opinion that she did not have mold in her ducts. Fortunately, we encouraged her to get a second opinion for that particular recommendation and all future air conditioning maintenance or purchases.

Nonetheless, the question of whether duct work needs to be cleaned is very serious. The Environmental Protection Agency has a report published on its website that states, "Duct cleaning has never been shown to actually prevent health problems." It further states that one of the times to consider duct cleaning is if there is a substantial amount of mold visible in the air supply lines. If there are any doubts on whether you have mold in your duct work, we recommend that a state licensed mold assessor is more qualified to determine if mold is present than the air conditioning guy trying to make a sales quota.

If you are concerned about dust or mold getting in your air conditioning supply lines, we strongly recommend using the pleated media filter. These filters are readily available at Wal Mart and other local stores. The most important thing we stress to OTOW homeowners is to get a second opinion when an air conditioning technician is trying to sell you a product or service.



This video, hosted by On Top of the World Communities Warranty Specialist Dennis Hisey, explains the basic maintenance of a heating and air conditioning system for all homeowners. Topics covered are what type of air filter to use, when to change the air filter, how to change the air filter and how to clean the condensate line

Robert Colen is the Warranty Supervisor for On Top of the World Communities.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Resident Club Showcase: Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)

The On Top of the World Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) is a group of volunteer emergency workers who have received specific training in basic disaster response skills and first aid who complement existing emergency responders in the event of a major disaster or neighborhood emergency. CERT is made up of On Top of the World (OTOW) residents and is always looking to add new members.

One of the interests of the OTOW CERT is to become acquainted with fellow residents in their neighborhoods and have their neighbors become acquainted with the team members. Recently in the Candler Hills and Avalon neighborhoods of OTOW, some of the CERT members took the initiative to go door to door to say hello.  The CERT members visited about 30 neighbors in their community and found many of the folks they spoke to were pleased to receive information about CERT and meet the members of the team. 

The CERT members not only shared information about CERT, but they also talked about hurricane preparedness and offered a 'file of life' card in which the homeowner can record medical information and place it on the refrigerator for responders to locate in case of an emergency.  They also determined if in each household there were any special needs such as oxygen dependency, measures to take for a diabetic or any other medical condition. 

The team also shared that if there is ever the need for evacuation due to a disaster, long term loss of power or property damage, the Marion County Sheriff's Office maintains lists of people who may need to be taken to a special needs shelter for care during the event. This is a very important step to ensure residents will be taken care of when they are not able to do so on their own. 

All CERT members go through an array of training such as fire safety, search and rescue, team organization and disaster medical operations. Residents of OTOW are fortunate to have this special team available to them for help and care when they need it most.