Community Bulletin

Local YMCA swimmers make big splash

Andy Kroupa and Rich Mercer of the Winter Park YMCA and Rick O’Dell of the Downtown Orlando YMCA won big last month at the United States Masters Swimming Short Course meet in Santa Clara, Calif., where 2,250 swimmers from around the nation gathered to compete. Mercer won a national championship in the 50 Free for ages 50 to 54 with a time of 23.05. Particularly notable was that four of the other age group winners were former Olympians. Mercer also placed fourth in the 100 Breast, fourth in the 100 Free and seventh in the 200 Breaststroke. In the 45 to 49 age group, Kroupa had many “masters personal best” times, placing fourth in the 200 Fly, 10th in the 500 Free, 12th in the 100 Fly, 23rd in the 100 Free and 24th in the 50 Free. Also in the 45 to 49 age group, O’Dell was 11th in the 100 Free, 12th in the 50 Free, 13th in the 50 Fly, 14th in the 100 IM, and 16th in the 500 Free.

Florida Bar Foundation names new executive director

Orlando attorney Bruce Blackwell was recently named executive director of The Florida Bar Foundation, a statewide charitable organization that works on behalf of Florida’s legal profession to provide greater access to justice. A founding shareholder with King, Blackwell, Zehnder & Wermuth P.A. in Orlando, Blackwell is a past president of the Foundation, the 2011 recipient of its Medal of Honor Award and the 2013 recipient of the American Bar Association’s Pro Bono Publico Award for outstanding service. Prior to becoming president, Blackwell served on The Florida Bar Foundation’s board for 10 years and on The Florida Bar Board of Governors for four years.

Rollins outfielder nabs SSC honors

Junior outfielder Christian Coburn capped off his first season at Rollins last month by earning Second Team All-Sunshine State Conference Baseball Team honors. A total of 34 student-athletes were named All-SSC in 2014. Joining the team in the fall, Coburn made an immediate impact as he led the lineup with a .291 batting average. He led the team in multiple statistical categories, including hits (44), runs (31), triples (two), home runs (one), walks drawn (18) and stolen bases (19). He also finished third in doubles (five) and fourth in RBI (12). His 19 stolen bases also ranked 82nd in the country.

The Windermere native made the transition into the outfield only 11 games into the season, but did not disappoint. The junior ended the season with 14 multi-hit and three multi-RBI games.