Category: Services

Tuesday: West Boca Council Meeting

The West Boca Community Council will have a meeting on Tuesday at Boca Lago Country Club, starting at 7:30 pm.

Sheri Scarborough of the WBCC

The meeting notice we received was rather barebones, but it’s supposed to be about protecting yourself from identity theft, and you can bring documents for shredding. It’s not clear whether the shredding will be free or if it’ll cost something. It might be promotional for a shredding company.
Boca Lago is on Lyons just north of Palmetto. It is not gated.

Relay for Life Has Hit The West Boca Ground Running

The American Cancer Society knows that the road to end cancer cannot be done overnight. However, the organization knows that for a single night all over the country, residents can come together to fight to end cancer, remember those who have lost their battle to the disease, and honor those who are still fighting.  That is what Relay for Life is all about: a night of celebration and honor, where participants raise money in teams for the American Cancer Society and come together with others of the community.
While Relay for Life of West Boca may not be until February, teams are already in place and beginning their fundraising. This year, the theme is Destination: Cure! The Relay will be held on February 23rd, 2012 starting at 12:00 PM at Logger’s Run Middle School.
How can you get involved?

  •  Step 1: Know your cause. Relay for Life and American Cancer Society information can be found here: Learn about Relay for Life
  • Step 2: Create a team! Anyone can create a team and raise money for the cause. Contact West Boca Relay for Life event chair, Elissa Goldstein, at 561-859-5792 for more information and team meeting dates. Visit the West Boca Relay for Life Page
    Elissa Goldstein
  • Step 3: Be creative and active in your fundraising. West Boca Relay for Life teams up with local restaurants and vendors to provide fundraising nights, where proceeds go to fundraising teams to be given to the American Cancer Society.
    Upcoming fundraisers
  • Step 4: Spread the word. Using social media and good ole fliers can go a long way. The American Cancer Society even has a generic e-mail that can be sent out with a direct link for donations, so don’t think your long distance family can’t contribute!
  • Step 5: Get excited. Though fundraising takes months, the event itself is the culmination of everyone’s fundraising efforts.

On Monday, November 12th from 11am-11pm, Chili’s is partnering with local Relay teams to donate funds during Chili’s Give Back Night event. The flyer will soon be available here
Keep checking West Boca News for the most recent Relay for Life information.

Animal Shelters

We’ve added a cute new feature – on the right side you may notice a picture of a dog, like this:

It’s a nice embed from the website of the Humane Society of Broward County, which has pets for adoption at the Petco on Glades Road (Westwinds of Boca plaza with the Home Depot and Publix).
There’s also a shelter on Boca Rio Road in West Boca run by the Tri-County Humane Society, which apparently covers four counties.

Disastrous Experience with Brightway Insurance and Florida Peninsula

A few months ago we were looking for new property insurance. I sat down in the Brightway Insurance – Boynton Beach office. Everything seemed to go well. I filled out a bunch of paperwork, made some payments, and understood we’d be paying lower premiums on both our homeowners insurance which many individuals acquire through websites such as www.insurancequotes.com and our umbrella policy.
I started getting notices. I’d get a notice from Florida Peninsula (the homeowners insurance) that something was missing. Then there’d be a notice from Pacific Specialty Insurance (the umbrella).
Whenever something came, I’d contact the agent and he’d say he was taking care of it. That’s the idea, right? The agent is supposed to take care of it.
So in September when I got the notice from Florida Peninsula that they were going to cancel my insurance effective October 1st, and that I was some $3500 short on the policy that was originally quoted to me as $3500 and that I had already paid, I was a little upset.
The agent at Brightway was not responding to my inquiries at this point. Not at all. I also notified the supervisor at the local Brightway office about my concerns. I got a brief response but there was no follow-up.
So I called Florida Peninsula directly. I sent them copies of the documents Brightway had failed to get them. I spoke with someone (MJ?) on September 19th.
We worked out what the correct premium was and I paid an extra $500 over the phone just to get it done. I was assured that everything would be fine and our insurance would not be canceled.
Then in early October we got the notice that our policy had been canceled. No, that’s not what I expected.
So I called today and found out that our mortgage company paid the $3500 or so that had been requested earlier. This was now an overpayment, due to the corrected papers I submitted, so they’re going to send me a refund for what the mortgage company paid. Huh?
I explained to the customer service rep at Florida Peninsula that this was not satisfying. I tried to explain that this is the kind of thing that might lead a mortgage company to cancel our mortgage. This is the kind of thing that could damage our credit rating. The rep was completely unhelpful.
I asked repeatedly to speak to a supervisor. She said no one was available but she could put me into someone’s voicemail. But I don’t want voicemail. They’re never going to get back to me. Eventually she found someone, Delisa who appeared to be competent.
I’m still not convinced that everything is resolved. I’m still worried about the notice that might be coming from our mortgage company. I’m not a happy customer.
After this experience I can recommend to everyone: Do not use Brightway Insurance and do not use Florida Peninsula. Neither of them cares about getting things done correctly. Neither of them shows any concern for the consequences when they make mistakes and how that affects the customer.
Below is an image from Brightway’s website. I have confidence alright. Confidence not to use them ever again.