A New 800-Foot Promenade Will Open Up The Lake Wellington Waterfront To Residents

Boardwalk Project

Along with a busy amphitheater, lively playground, spacious green lawn and an inviting community center, the Village of Wellington will soon be adding a peaceful promenade to its list of amenities in the Wellington Town Center area.

After years of consideration, planning and construction, Wellington residents and visitors can expect to enjoy the tranquil boardwalk atmosphere at the beginning of May along the Lake Wellington waterfront behind the Wellington Community Center. 

The community center already has an outdoor paver brick area overlooking Lake Wellington. It’s earthy, old-Florida tones partnering with the scenic, water view presents a picturesque environment. The new promenade will be an extension of this ambiance. 

Families, couples, friends and individuals can look forward to the boardwalk-style promenade as an avenue for togetherness, exercise and appreciation designed specifically for community use. It will stretch 800 feet from north to south, ranging from 20 to 30 feet in width. And, yes, it will be dog friendly.

Along with the idyllic scene, the promenade is also designed for community involvement. Wellington Assistant Village Manager Jim Barnes, for example, expects it to be instrumental in improving the lives of boaters using Lake Wellington.

“When we’ve had the Lakeside Family Fun Days this past year, before we started construction, some folks did try and come up on their boats and tie off temporarily,” Barnes said. “They all noted that it would be great if there was a way for them to do that on a regular basis.”

The idea, then, is that rather than having to drive to various events, such as the green market that the village expects to hold along the promenade, individuals living off of the lake can cut through the water and dock right there at the Wellington Community Center. 

“We think it’s going to really open up the waterfront that we’ve had since the beginning of time and provide more access to our residents and visitors alike,” Barnes said. “Not only do we have the view, based on the facilities we have with the community center, but now people will be able to also access the waterfront area when they’re not in the community center, whether it’s a walking path, a jog, enjoying the sunsets, whatever.”

To Wellington’s Assistant Planning, Zoning & Building Director Michael O’Dell, the view alone is worth a visit.

“I think one of the other major aspects of this particular spot is that the sunsets here over Lake Wellington are spectacular,” O’Dell said. “We get a lot of people who just come down here and watch the sunset.”

O’Dell himself enjoys it from the second floor of the community center, and he is excited by the possibilities offered by the new boardwalk promenade.

Community center patrons will be welcome to use the space for weddings or other parties.

“It’s an added amenity,” Barnes said. “Right now, [users] are able to, if they want to as part of their rental of the community center space, have an outdoor portion to it, whether it’s on the patio back there or whether they use the gazebo that’s over on the actual lake.”

The new 800-foot pathway expands that available area, and with the added electricity, O’Dell expects to open the promenade to more uses, such as food trucks.

“In the future, I see the food trucks being utilized in a given location that’s designed for them. I see the green market working itself along the promenade,” O’Dell said. “I see people utilizing the docks for boating activities and canoeing and kayaking activities.”

With the new addition comes in increased hope for Wellington citizens to take advantage of their community amenities.

“I think it’s just being able to provide greater access, whether it’s for the boaters so they can tie off here and go to an event or enjoy the amphitheater or some other activity here on site,” Barnes said. “Or whether it’s for folks who now have another access point if they want to paddleboard on the lake… or to increase the number of rowers with the ones we already have utilizing the lake now.”

Lake Wellington has been frequented by rowers for more than 20 years, and Barnes said he hopes this new project will help bring in even more.

“A lot of folks in the rowing club note that whoever laid out the design [for the lake] must have had some rowing background, because the length from end to end of Lake Wellington is ideal for a rowing course,” Barnes said. “So, that’s something that they’ve noted, and they’ve been using it for a long time. It’s something that would be great if it was a year-round activity.”

Many Wellington residents attend and participate in events that the village hosts. The promenade area is meant to complement the active Town Center lifestyle, not completely revolutionize it.

“I think that Wellington has such big community involvement, and everybody likes to participate in things that the village puts on,” agreed Ana Graham, a longtime Wellington resident. “And so, if you have another venue, that’s a good idea.”

Promenade visitors can expect to enjoy the sunset from the bricked boardwalk in the beginning of May. In the meantime, there’s always the second floor of the Wellington Community Center.

Julie Tannehill Is The Glue That Keeps Phelps Media Group Together

Natural Leader

Businesses can be compared to a living, breathing organism. When they are born, they need strong guidance and dedication to get them off the ground. Once they are a few years in, they need stable guidance by a steady and caring hand, and once they reach maturity, they need honest, accomplished and experienced management.

In many instances, it is hard for businesses to find and keep the type of people who can fill these roles. It is even more difficult to find the same person that fulfills each need. Phelps Media Group, an equestrian-focused marketing and public relations agency, is fortunate to have a professional that fills those needs and more through Wellington local Julie Tannehill.

Tannehill was born in New Castle, Pennsylvania, and spent most of her young life in Memphis, Tennessee, where she was a typical horse-crazy teenager. It was not until 1996 that she and her family relocated to Boca Raton. During that time, Tannehill was a professional in the hotel and hospitality industry. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, Tannehill enjoyed a successful career that took her from Boca Raton to Orlando and back again.

After meeting and marrying her then husband, Tannehill was able to fulfill her lifelong dream of purchasing a farm and owning several horses, while focusing on training and natural horsemanship. “The horse farm was the dream of my life, and for seven years, I chose to not work and enjoy my home and horses,” Tannehill recalled.

After her professional hiatus, Tannehill dove back into the workforce at the American Cancer Society in West Palm Beach. Little did she know that the nonprofit organization would lead her down an entirely different path that included Wellington businessman Mason Phelps.

“The American Cancer Society was where I got my foot back into the door of Wellington,” Tannehill said. “While I was working on the American Cancer Society gala in Wellington, I ended up meeting Mason and working with him on event sponsorships. Because of my lifelong history with horses, Mason had always been an idol of mine, and we really clicked when we worked together, which was thrilling.”

Phelps courted Tannehill to come to work for Phelps Media Group in 2007.

“One of the main reasons I took the position with Mason was because the first offices were located on the show grounds of the Winter Equestrian Festival,” Tannehill recalled.

She accepted the position of office manager with the fledgling business and immediately proved her versatile skill set and “can do” mentality by assisting in helping to organize the United States Equestrian Team Foundation’s appearance at the Rose Bowl.

Following the trajectory of equestrian sports in Wellington, Phelps Media Group continued to grow and gain traction within the industry. It transitioned offices from the show grounds to the Lake Wellington Professional Centre, and eventually to its current home in the Chancellor building in 2011.

The growth of Phelps Media Group happened rapidly, and through it all, Tannehill rose to meet the firm’s needs.

“The challenge was that fairly quickly, we went from a small company, where you do everything, to a bigger company where everyone’s role is more specialized and things need to be streamlined,” Tannehill said. “In the very beginning, I did everything from sales, to human resources, finance, event management and the list goes on. As we grew, I took on the finances and brought them in-house. I still do a little bit of everything, but now I am really a devil for the details.”

Today, Tannehill is married to her life partner, Don McKenzie, and is a staple in the Wellington professional community. Phelps Media Group has grown to become the largest equestrian marketing and public relations agency in the United States with a full-time staff of more than a dozen that travels extensively, works from all corners of the continent and is constantly striving to meet the needs of an ever-expanding industry. No matter what each new year brings, the one constant is Tannehill.

“Phelps Media Group has turned into a company that I could have never dreamed of,” founder and president Mason Phelps said. “We have had our fair share of challenges, and through it all, Julie has remained a constant guiding light and dependable ally. I really believe that we would not have been able to transform the way we have if it were not for her commitment and dependability to my vision and the mission of the company.”

She enjoys the day-to-day workings of the company. “I enjoy working with our varied staff and being exposed to more than just one thing in a day,” Tannehill said. “I like having my hand in a little bit of everything, and this group certainly keeps me on my toes.”

In a group of employees mostly comprised of young women, Tannehill serves not only as an organizer, but also a mentor and valuable reference for what has worked in the past and what has not. She is also a key component that continues to connect Phelps Media Group with the local Wellington community.

“I want to continue to see Phelps Media Group grow and strive to take our services to the next level,” Tannehill said. “I would like to see Phelps become even more specialized and valuable to our clients. Branding, social media, web site development, and strategic marketing — the sky is truly the limit to what I think we are capable of achieving.”