COURTESY : Daily Commercial
Published January 7, 2004
BY JODIE MUNRO O’BRIEN

THE VILLAGES 

A voluntary Villages college-donation program has some residents crying foul. 

The Patron Program at the Villages Lifelong Learning Center was established in August as another means for the college to obtain funds to present more programs, said Gary Lester, director of community relations for The Villages. 

The program offers benefits to those who donate $50 to the college. Some of those benefits include discounts to Villages entertainment events. 

“The program came out of the interest of residents,” Lester said. “It provides wonderful benefits for those who wish to go the extra mile in support of the college.” 

But the Property Owners Association of The Villages, charging favoritism and bribery, has called on the Villages Homeowners Association to support them in a call to eliminate the Patron Program. 

Joe Gorman, president of the property owner’s association, said the program is elitist. 

“Some people can’t afford to make a $50 bribe to the college,” he said. “It’s not in the spirit of fairness that’s expected in The Villages.” 

Lester said the college provides an array of classes, from foreign policy to pottery, for the benefit of the residents. The Patron Program donations go toward expanding programs such as the special speaker program, he said. 

Gorman said the program sounds like a way for some residents to bribe the college for preferred access to unrelated entertainment tickets. 

“Some of the features that attracted many residents to The Villages in the first place are now prioritized for an elitist group of Villagers who can afford to bribe the entertainment division with $50,” Gorman said. 

Don Burgess, president of the Villages Homeowners Association, said the program was not an issue the association had dealt with. 

“I think we have a lot more pressing issues here at The Villages,” he said.