- May 17, 2025
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The Tom Ison Veteran and Senior Center offers a variety of programs and services on Adair Street in Ocoee.
The Tom Ison Veteran and Senior Center offers a variety of programs and services on Adair Street in Ocoee.
U.S. Rep Ric Keller, fifth from left, Ocoee city officials, veterans and seniors dug in their shovels to officially break ground for the new West Orange Seniors/Veterans’ Service Center on Adair Street in Ocoee in 2004.
Helping to cut the ribbon on the Tom Ison Veteran and Senior Center in Ocoee in 2006 were, City Commissioner Rusty Johnson, left, West Orange Seniors president Fran Watts, Mayor Scott Vandergrift, U.S. Rep. Ric Keller, Tommy Ison, Pat Ison Breeze and Commissioner Scott Anderson.
The city cut the ribbon on the Downtown Streetscape Project at the intersection of McKey Street and Cumberland Avenue in 2005. The project was to include a complete renovation of McKey from Kissimmee Avenue to Bluford Avenue. Attending the event were Pat Gleason, left, Linda Osterberg, JoAnne Quarles, Joan Bailey, Diane Southwell, City Commissioner Rusty Johnson, Marie Williams, Mayor Scott Vandergrift, City Commissioner Scott Anderson, Kay Behrens, Lenny Starke and Chesta Hembrooke.
A crowd gathered in 2009 to watch the implosion of the Colony Plaza hotel/condo/timeshare eyesore on Maguire Road and West Colonial Drive.
A crowd gathered in 2009 to watch the implosion of the Colony Plaza hotel/condo/timeshare eyesore on Maguire Road and West Colonial Drive.
Hundreds of West Orange County residents in 2011 waited for their turn to add a stitch to the tattered 30-foot American flag that survived the 9/11 terrorist attack at New York City’s World Trade Center.
Hundreds of West Orange County residents in 2011 waited for their turn to add a stitch to the tattered 30-foot American flag that survived the 9/11 terrorist attack at New York City’s World Trade Center.
Hundreds of West Orange County residents in 2011 waited for their turn to add a stitch to the tattered 30-foot American flag that survived the 9/11 terrorist attack at New York City’s World Trade Center.
Hundreds of West Orange County residents in 2011 waited for their turn to add a stitch to the tattered 30-foot American flag that survived the 9/11 terrorist attack at New York City’s World Trade Center. Above, local principal Dr. Angela Murphy-Osborne added a stitch.
Hundreds of West Orange County residents in 2011 waited for their turn to add a stitch to the tattered 30-foot American flag that survived the 9/11 terrorist attack at New York City’s World Trade Center. Elsie Rosado, left, whose daughter was killed in the attack, was among the residents healing through stitching.
Hundreds of West Orange County residents in 2011 waited for their turn to add a stitch to the tattered 30-foot American flag that survived the 9/11 terrorist attack at New York City’s World Trade Center.
The city of Ocoee requested and received a piece of steel from the wreckage of the fallen World Trade Center buildings in New York City. It resides at the fire station on West Road.
The city of Ocoee requested and received a piece of steel from the wreckage of the fallen World Trade Center buildings in New York City. It resides at the fire station on West Road.
The city of Ocoee requested and received a piece of steel from the wreckage of the fallen World Trade Center buildings in New York City. It resides at the fire station on West Road.
The Ocoee Lakeshore Center is the scene of dozens of community and private events each year.
Many music festivals and other community events are held in the one-acre Bill Breeze Park, situated between the Lakeshore Center and Starke Lake.
Editor’s note: In partnership with the city of Ocoee, the Observer is publishing a 10-week series examining each decade of the city’s history.
2005-2015 was a period of growth for the city of Ocoee. Two community centers were built, including one for seniors and veterans, and the city cut the ribbon on a new downtown Ocoee project.
CENTER FOR SENIORS, VETERANS
The Tom Ison Seniors and Veterans Center held its grand opening in August 2006, two years after breaking ground for the facility at 1701 Adair Street in Ocoee. The purpose of the building was to give veterans and senior citizens a community center that is fun but also serves as an important place to get key information about benefits.
U.S. Rep. Ric Keller was the keynote speaker at the ribbon-cutting celebration. He said after Ocoee representatives asked for his assistance in 2002 to make the center a reality, he helped come up with $800,000.
Rusty Johnson, a city commissioner at the time, also is a Vietnam veteran. He closed the program with a tribute to former Mayor Tom Ison, who gave years of dedicated service to all Ocoee citizens and in whose honor the center is named.
One of Ison’s sayings was “Let’s make people a priority,” and that was the idea behind the center.
The reconstructed church property provides a large meeting room, office space, kitchen and smaller meeting room. American Legion Post 109 immediately arranged assistance for veterans needing to file for benefits. A Veterans Services Office also was set up, and veterans could file new claims; reopen denied claims; review old claims and appeals; and apply for increases, widow benefits, burial benefits and pensions.
Ocoee’s Parks and Leisure Services Department partners with the social group West Orange Seniors, which started in 1978, to bring senior programs and other recreational activities at the Ison Center. Weekly programs include bingo, chair exercise, line dancing and crafts, as well as monthly luncheons.
BILL BREEZE PARK
In 2008, the city embarked on a $960,000 project that brought new roads, a new drainage system and other major improvements to Bill Breeze Park on the shore of Starke Lake. The brick pavers near the old City Hall were recovered from the old brick road around Lakeshore Drive.
The Starke Lake Boat Ramp was substantially improved, making it easier to access the ramp and put boats in the water. New picnic tables, pavilions, benches and trees were installed along the lakeshore.
The one-acre lawn is the perfect setting for the Ocoee’s annual music festivals, other city activities and many West Orange Chamber of Commerce events.
OCOEE LAKESHORE CENTER
The former Ocoee Community Center facing Starke Lake was torn down to make way for a more modern facility that could accommodate more people and gave businesses and residents a place to rent for meetings, parties and other gatherings.
The Ocoee Lakeshore Center was built in 2014 and expanded five years later. The lovely setting features several banquet rooms of varying sizes, audiovisual equipment, a commercial kitchen, bride’s and groom’s preparation room, and a dance floor.
An outdoor plaza can accommodate guests on the building’s lake side.
NOTABLE NEWS
2005: The city cut the ribbon on the Downtown Streetscape Project at the intersection of McKey Street and Cumberland Avenue. The project was to include a complete renovation of McKey from Kissimmee Avenue to Bluford Avenue. Electric, telephone and cable lines were put underground, new streetlights were installed, decorative pavers replaced concrete sidewalks, and landscaping was added.
2009: The Colony Plaza Hotel, built at the southwest intersection of West Colonial Drive and Maguire Road in 1968 as the Ramada Inn, had fallen into disrepair after years of neglect and changes in ownership. After years of legal dealings, city officials condemned the property for code violations. By 7:15 a.m. May 9, the pink eyesore was imploded and turned to dust. Folks gathered on the facing streets to witness the grand spectacle.
2010: Producer Jerry Eisinger's movie "The Whisper Home" was filmed in Ocoee. This movie went on to be featured in three different movie festivals and was nominated Best Screenplay at the Phoenix International Christian Film Festival.
2011: The 30-foot American flag that flew near Ground Zero was in Ocoee in February, and citizens helped sew it back together. Among the Ocoee residents was Elsie Rosado, whose daughter, Maria Isabel Ramirez, was killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City. People lined up to add a stitch to the National 9/11 Flag, which became a symbol of healing as it was slowly stitched back together by local heroes and citizens in its journey through large cities and small towns in each of the 50 states.
Florida’s flag patch was made up of several donated flags, including one from the city of Ocoee. This flag has flown over the city’s Tom Ison Seniors and Veterans Center, as well as the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.
2013: The city of Ocoee was one of many municipalities to request a piece of steel from the wreckage of the fallen World Trade Center buildings in New York City. The city held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially dedicate a small but important piece at its fire station on West Road. The square section is part of a 9/11 memorial designed and built by FX Design Group in Ocoee. The steel beam portion of the illuminated display is removable and can be taken to schools for hands-on education of the 9/11 tragedy.
The memorial includes a proclamation the city issued calling Sept. 11 “a day of prayer, remembrance and rededication to patriotism and love for our country that will be recognized forever.” The memorial is on display in the lobby of Ocoee Fire Station 25, 563 S. Bluford Ave.
2015: J. Lester Dabbs, 82, died after a long battle with lung cancer. He was well known in West Orange County for his service in both education and politics. He taught at the original Ocoee High School and was the last principal at Lakeview High School and the first principal at West Orange High School when it opened in 1976. He also served the city of Ocoee as a commissioner from 1986-89 and mayor from 1989-92.
