Kelley and Bill Serantis were number 105 in line . “ It was unbelievable ,” recalls Kelley . “ It was like camping out for a concert or football tickets . A wonderful couple , Kathy and Rick Erb were next to me in line . They are still friends to this day .” When asked how she feels about her decision to live at Latitude Margaritaville five years ago , Kelley replies , “ It ’ s home . A place where I feel loved , comfortable , happy , busy and blessed for sure .”
While she doesn ’ t remember her actual number in line , Lana Byer says her campout number was in the 30s . “ I had a ball and met a lot of my neighbors there . We really bonded and we remain friends . The spirit of this community is something else . I am so blessed to be here .”
At the campout , Lana ’ s “ neighbor ” in line was Gloria Hogue . Lana later learned that Gloria ’ s house at Latitude Margaritaville wouldn ’ t be finished until several months after she had closed on her own home . Gloria was regularly traveling to Daytona from out of town to check on progress . So Lana invited her new friend to stay with her until her house was ready . “ Gloria offered to pay rent but I said no ,” says Lana . As it turned out , Lana ’ s new friend was an amazing house guest , helping install a designer backsplash in Lana ’ s kitchen , paint , put up mirrors , pictures , chandeliers and more . “ When Gloria ’ s house was ready , I said , ‘ I hate to see you move out !’ We ’ ve been friends ever since .” contract , and I was thinking , ‘ I hope this place takes off and people see what I ’ m seeing . My goodness , it just took off like a shot ! It ’ s everything I thought it was and more . I ’ m truly happy . I have so many friends . As you age , it ’ s so easy to get caught up in how old you are . I don ’ t really think about that . I ’ m too busy !”
We ’ ve done something every year to commemorate the launch date . At the campout , everyone had a blast and we made life-long friends that are now neighbors . We ’ ll always be there for one another . It ’ s years later and , when I talk about it , I still get chills .
– RESIDENT LISA MORRIS
How does Lana feel about her decision five years ago to live at Latitude Margaritaville ? “ I remember my hand was kind of shaking as I was signing the
DAYTONA BEACH CELEBRATES 5 YEARS 19