Business & Tech

Chamber Announces 'Citizen of the Year' Finalists

Renee Blain, Tim Lancaster and Anita Long are in the running.

Each year, the awards one resident with the distinction of “Citizen of the Year.”

This year, nominees include:

  • Renee Blain, who started nonprofit and has been instrumental in converting city playgrounds to all-inclusive playgrounds;
  • Tim Lancaster, president of the Temple Terrace Preservation Society and owner of Lancaster Design, which helped create the ; and
  • Anita Long, co-owner of and publicity chair for the GFWC Temple Terrace Junior Women’s Club, the Temple Terrace Women’s Club, Relay for Life and the Temple Terrace Arts Council.

The winner will be announced at the 49th annual Awards Installation and Banquet on Aug. 23 at 7:15 p.m. at . The Ann Simmons Service Award recipient will also be announced. The award is given to someone who doesn’t live in Temple Terrace but greatly serves the community.

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Here is information on each Citizen of the Year nominee from the chamber:

--Renee Blain and her family founded Clouds of Hope, a not-for-profit organization that provides support for organizations and groups that care for families of children with life-altering illnesses and disorders.

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Renee initially approached the City of Temple Terrace, requesting that it install playground equipment that was adaptable for children of all abilities. Through her efforts, the city incorporated her suggestions into planning play space for this universal equipment. She also organized and managed several fundraisers to secure funding for this equipment. The playground at was and the larger playground at was .

Renee also developed Camp CHEER, in conjunction with the . This is a respite care program where children with special needs can have fun and be encouraged while their parents experience rest. The camp occurs once a month.

In addition, Renee has been involved with the PTA, holding a variety of offices for six years, and served as the president for two years. She devoted endless hours to engaging parents into the life of the school and working with schoolteachers and parents through transition to a new administration.

--Tim Lancaster is the owner and founder of Lancaster Design Inc., a small boutique design studio based in Temple Terrace. He designed the new city of Temple Terrace logo and tagline as part of a citywide marketing effort.

He has served as the director for the since 2010 and this year’s event was featured on the front page of the New York Times in February.

Tim is the current president of the Temple Terrace Preservation Society and co-chairs the . This group is raising funds to build a new bat tower, which would serve the ecology as well as draw visitors to the area.

He is co-chairing the effort to have the listed on the prestigious .

Tim co-authored the book Images of America-Temple Terrace, a historical perspective of the beginning of Temple Terrace and the manner in which purchased 19,000 acres to create a hunting preserve on the land that is now the city of Temple Terrace. It is believed that she wanted to establish one of America’s first planned golf course communities.

--Anita Long is the co-owner of Business Ink Printing, a Temple Terrace-based print shop.

She is the publicity chair for the GFWC Temple Terrace Junior Women’s Club, the GFWC Temple Terrace Women’s Club, and the , writing and submitting press releases for all four organizations as well as maintaining Facebook pages and event pages for these organizations. She has chaired many of these organizations or served on their boards.

Anita, herself, has a talent for art, and she developed a program in conjunction with the Temple Terrace Juniorettes to donate supplies and teach who are staying at the Hope Lodge, next to , while they are receiving treatment.

After hearing a presentation about the Justice Center, a place for women who were in abusive households, . She organized everything from paint to new furniture and the volunteers it would take to improve the space.

Anita has donated her original artwork to various charitable fundraisers and assisted another local artist painting a mural at Every Day Blessings, a foster home for siblings.


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