Roger Effron, President Emeritus
Roger Effron worked for the Cincinnati Public Schools for 30 years and was Principal of an inner city high school, junior high school and the district’s personnel director with responsibilities of managing approximately 7000 employees. Effron retired from the district in 1992. Currently, Effron serves as a Visiting Professor of Education at Xavier University where he teaches in the graduate program from Florida, his online class in Politics/Public Relations and Human Resources. Effron is President of Effron & Associates, LLC. In addition to providing executive search services, Effron & Associates serves as the primary strategist for many political issue campaigns and also specializes in community engagement and damage control. Effron has written a number of nationally published articles, addressing issues in both education and human resources and is called upon to serve as a presenter and motivation speaker. For eight years, Effron appeared on Cincinnati’s ABC television affiliate providing a commentary on education. Effron received a Bachelor of Arts in History/Political Science from Miami University and a Master of Education from the University of Cincinnati, with advanced graduate work at Xavier University, State University of New York and the University of Maryland. Effron has served on the Venetian Golf and River Club as Executive VP for six years and authors its newsletter, Parcels. He was also active in assisting the Venice Police Department in improving its public image. As a member of the golf club, he is not recognized as a great golfer, but instead, the owner of 44 various and colorful golf shoes!
Term Expires — March 2026
Tom Jones, Co-President
Tom has been a member and secretary of the VGRCCA board since 2008. He grew up in Wisconsin and attended UW-Madison where he met his wife, Pat. They lived in the San Francisco Bay area for 25 years and he retired in 2007 after 35 years with 3M Company in tape and electronics sales. Tom and Pat have been full-time residents and golf members of the Venetian since 2005. Tom served on the VCDD board from 2008–2014 and on the Venetian POA board from 2015-2021. Tom and Pat have been full-time residents and golf members since 2005. He was chair of the City of Venice Environmental Advisory Board from 2013-2023. His outside interests are golf, hiking, scuba diving, photography, music, travel, and anything to do with the ocean.
Term Expires — March 2025
Mark Faford, Co-President
Mark and his wife Livvy have resided at the Venetian since 2015 after relocating from Trumbull, CT. Prior to retiring to Venice, Mark spent 37 years working in the chemical industry primarily in accounting, general operations management and corporate finance. Mark served as General Manager of a sulfuric acid business with manufacturing facilities in Texas and Louisiana before transferring to become Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications for Arch Chemicals, Inc. In this role, Mark also was heavily involved with the Company’s acquisitions and divestitures, including the sale of Arch Chemicals to the Swiss company, Lonza, Inc. After this sale, Mark worked for Lonza, Inc. where he co-led the transition and integration of the two companies.
Mark obtained a BS from Pennsylvania State University and earned a MBA from the University of Connecticut.
He served as President of a 65-unit condominium association in Longport, New Jersey for 10 years leading numerous capital improvement and maintenance projects. Having been born and raised in Philadelphia, he never lost his “Philly roots” which is why he and family vacationed during the summer months in south jersey. He remains very loyal to his Philly sports teams through good times and not-so-good times. Mark enjoys visiting with his two children in CT and NY and play time with his young granddaughter.
Mark also served as the initial Treasurer and Secretary for the Palermo Neighborhood Board at the Venetian for two years when WCI turned over management to the owners and currently serves on the Venetian’s Racquet Sports Advisory Committee.
Term Expires – March 2025
Sharon George
Sharon has resided at the Venetian since June 2020. Prior to retiring full-time to Venice, she resided in Racine, Wisconsin. Sharon has had a diverse variety of careers over 46 years. She started out as an elementary educator in Wisconsin teaching second and third grades. While teaching, she earned her MS in Educational Psychology and served on the teacher’s union negotiating team. After 9 years of teaching, she made a switch to Wisconsin Bell/Ameritech to work in the telecom engineering area for 10 years. The following 27 years Sharon was a financial planner in investment securities and moved into securities compliance, operations and management. She retired as the compliance, operations and program manager at Johnson Investment Services at Johnson Bank in Racine, Wisconsin. She has also served as president of two condominium boards over the years.
Sharon’s mother Dorothy lives in Venice and recently celebrated her 102nd birthday. Sharon enjoys all Wisconsin sport teams (Packers, Brewers, Bucks and Wisconsin Badgers), travel, golf, dogs, and community involvement.
Term Expires — March 2025
John Manoush, Secretary
John grew up in the Boston suburb of Watertown and attended the University of Massachusetts in Amherst before serving in the Peace Corps in Brazil 1970–71. John still speaks fluent Brazilian Portuguese, with limited Spanish and French. With an MS in Food Science, he began a 27-year career in food safety and quality management. Retiring from the corporate scene in 2002, John started a food safety consulting business that served a wide variety of food manufacturers until full retirement in 2017.
John volunteered for 10 years for a state agency that provided funding and technical assistance to startup businesses. With a growing interest in history he served for 20 years on the board of trustees of the boyhood home of author Nathaniel Hawthorne and was secretary for a historical society. He has spoken to groups about early American life as well as the history and techniques of food preservation. He is an accomplished guitarist and played professionally in younger days, but making music is now limited to entertaining family and friends. John and his wife Kim enjoyed many years living on the shores of Maine’s Sebago Lake. They have been delighted with their 2020 relocation to The Venetian and make good use of the great facilities at the River Club as well as local parks.
Impressed from the start with the good works of the Community Association, John is honored to join the board (2022).
Term Expires — March 2026
Taras Kowalczyn
Taras and his wife Daria have been property owners in the Venetian since 2013. In 2019 this became their primary residence when Taras retired after a 44 year career as an executive at Nabisco, Chiquita, and Ocean Spray. Most recently as Executive Vice President of Operations he has focusing on Supply Chain Management/Logistics, Manufacturing, Global Sourcing and Acquisitions. The past 20 years Taras has experience supporting communities in navigating Municipal Permitting, State Funding and Federal approval to successfully design, build, and manage multiple Real Estate projects.
Taras was born and raised in Philadelphia until attending college on an athletic scholarship at Fordham University, where he earned a BBA, before going on to Temple University (MS Engineering), and St. John’s University (MBA). He has been a key note speaker at Universities and published in trade journals with half-a-dozen patents to his credit.
Taras along with Daria and their two children have lived in multiple cities in the US and internationally. Prior to retirement, he spent the last 20 years in the South Shore of Boston (Kingston MA) where he volunteered on the Boards of the Greater Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, Littleton Chamber of Commerce, and Massachusetts Habitat for Humanity.
Despite being away from Philadelphia for most of his professional career, he has remained a die-hard Philly sports fan, with the Boston teams a close second. Taras enjoys undertaking home improvement/renovation projects as well as golfing, fishing, and most recently pickleball.
Term Expires — March 2026
Stephen Hefler, MD
Dr. Steve was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and earned his BA at Columbia College, Columbia University before moving uptown in NYC to get his MD degree from the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons and do a 3 year pediatric residency at Babies Hospital, Columbia University. Following a 21 month stint as a Lt. Commander in the Great lakes Naval Hospital just north of Chicago, he returned to Babies Hospital for a 15 month pediatric cardiology fellowship. At that point he realized that his true love was general pediatrics and he first joined a practice in New Rochelle, NY and after 2 years moved to Princeton, NJ where he practiced from 1977 to retirement in 2016.
During his time in practice in Princeton, he was the President and Medical Director of the Princeton Individual Practice Association from 1988–2008, President of Physicians Healthcare Association from 1993–1997, a member of the Board of Directors of Healthways Systems which contracted with IPAs, a member of the Board of Directors of the Jewish Family Service Agency of Princeton, a Surveyor for the National Committee on Quality Assurance from 1988–1997, and Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Princeton Medical Center from 2002–2005. Dr Steve was also School Medical Inspector and Football Team Doctor for 4 local high schools from 1978–1997. In addition, he was a Director in the Family Division of Landmark Education from 2013–2020 where he assisted in Childrens’ Forums (courses for personal growth) around the country.
In 2016, Dr Steve retired as did his wife, Marcia, from her 25 years as a psychotherapist and moved to the Venetian. He has been a member of the HRT (Hurricane Response Team) since 2017 and was activated for both Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Ian. Dr Steve and Marcia greatly enjoy water aerobics where he is one of the few men brave enough to be in a overwhelmingly female class. He took up golf just 4 years ago and enjoys playing. He plays the autoharp and loves opera and classical music. Dr Steve and Marcia enjoy travel (pre-Covid) and going to the theater and to the many wonderful restaurants in the area. He is the local Co-Precinct captain for one of the major political parties and is trained as a Deputy for Primary and National Elections and works at the Venetian on Election Day.
Dr Steve has one son; Marcia has a son and a daughter, and together they have 7 grandchildren ages 19 months to 22 years who they dote on. Dr Steve looks forward to contributing to this community by serving on this board.
Term Expires — March 2026
Joe Browne
Joe Browne and his wife Maria have rented or lived in Venice since 2001 and have owned in the Venetian since 2016. Joe is originally from Brooklyn and Queens, NYC. Maria is from England, a few miles north of London.
Joining the US Air Force, Joe was trained in intelligence operations and assigned to Japan in 1960 and England in 1963. While assigned to England, Joe met and married Maria McCaskie who is proud to be 100% Scots/Irish. Joe joined the National Security Agency as a civilian intelligence officer in 1968. He and his family did several European assignments in the 70s, 80s and 90s. Joe retired 1996 as a Deputy Inspector General, and was subsequently employed by several defense contractors in support of the Intelligence Community (IC). Joe was recalled to active duty status at NSA following a national emergency. He retired finally in 2008 when he and Maria moved on a part time basis to Florida.
They have two sons, one of whom is in Germany with his family assigned in support of US defense operations. Joe and Maria have two grandchildren, one of whom is assigned to the US Naval Academy, Annapolis. Their parents also live in Annapolis.
Joe received a Bachelor of Science degree from University of Maryland and graduated from the US Army War College in Carlisle, PA, and the NATO School in Oberammergau, Germany. Joe is the current chairman of a NSA retiree organization in SW Florida. He was a volunteer for the Venice Police Department in the Detective bureau and has consulted for the Sarasota PD.
In the VGRC, he has served on the Rules Committee for the POA and on the Social and Dining Committee for the CDD. He currently serves on the Hurricane Response Team for the Association. Joe follows golf, golfs occasionally when no one is looking, and is an extreme fan of football (called soccer in the US), especially when his grandson is playing for the US Naval Academy. Up the Mids!
Joe and Maria love the theater, the opera, jazz and symphony. Joe and Maria are always on the lookout for a new restaurant in the Sarasota-Venice area. He is also looking forward to making a contribution to the community via the Association.
Term expires — March 2025
Terry Leary
Terry and Susan Leary moved to the Venetian in May of 2020 from San Diego, California after both served as career Naval Officers. Originally from Detroit MI, Doctor Leary graduated from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry in 1982. Upon graduation he was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the United states Navy Dental Corps and reported to Camp Lejeune, NC. Following his tour at Camp Lejeune, he and his wife Susan were stationed in Okinawa, Japan followed by tours in Norfolk, VA; Yokosuka, Japan; and finally in San Diego CA. Over the course of 30 years the Learys served active duty and family members on multiple continents. Upon retirement from the Navy, Captain Leary worked as an instructor at Concorde Career College, San Diego in their Dental Hygiene program. During the COVID pandemic, the Learys moved to Venice to enjoy the Florida lifestyle. Since arriving in 2020 the Learys have been involved in their local church and other community organizations. They look forward to helping out the local Venetian community.
Term Expires — March 2025
Chip Melvin, Treasurer
He received a BA from the University of Southern California, an MBA from Syracuse University, then started a career in finance, automotive and aviation. After starting (and selling) a few businesses, most recently he retired as Chief Financial Officer of a publicly traded accounting software company.
Originally from Syracuse NY, he lived in Alaska for 13 years before returning to Upstate New York and eventually migrated south in 2008.
Chip has been a resident of the Venetian since 2017 and plays golf on a regular basis.
Term Expires – March 2025