Cover Stories

Pictured above: Creek celebrated 30 years as a Tree City USA in 2018; Vollmer is pictured far left, holding a special award from the foundation With its standing as home to Butterfly World, events like the Butterfly Festival, and a butterfly garden at City Hall, most people can see why Coconut Creek is known as the Butterfly

Being the first has come with its share of opportunities for Lisa Lutoff-Perlo. But it’s the doors that the president and CEO of Celebrity Cruises continues to open for others that is reimagining the company, captivating the industry—and inspiring women around the world. Since becoming the first female to lead one of Royal Caribbean Cruises

Photos by John Hartzell On a Monday night in late January, it’s 54 degrees in Pompano Beach. Inside the Glacier Ice & Snow Arena, it’s even colder. About 11 women change into hockey gear in a locker room, laughing and catching up and talking. The group—which includes a chemist, a teacher and a headhunter, among

By the Numbers In addition to celebrating 75 years, the Humane Society of Broward County boasts other equally impressive figures. HSBC placed 6,791 dogs, cats and furry friends in 2017. Its 33,000-square-foot, air-conditioned shelter, which opened in 1992, can accommodate 150 dogs and 150 cats. Approximately 100,000 patrons visit the shelter annually. More than 500

PAWS & Havana Nights As current president of the fundraising affiliate for the Humane Society of Broward County, Julie Strauch understands as well as anyone that the 212 members of PAWS (Pets Are Worth Saving), including 57 board members, aren’t just there to socialize. “When I say I have a working board, I’m not kidding,”

Photography by James Woodley As a child, Miami-born Michael Beltran was fascinated by the sense of pride he observed in his Cuban grandparents when they cooked for 20 or 30 people. He carried that feeling until college when he did a little bit of everything at an Applebee’s in order to learn as much as

Jorge Ramos, executive chef at Conrad Fort Lauderdale Beach Paula DaSilva, executive chef at The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale Edgar Beas, executive chef at Dune, Auberge Beach Residences & Spa, Fort Lauderdale Jorlian Rivera, executive chef at S3, Fort Lauderdale Alex Becker, executive chef at Kuro, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood   What’s the

Photos by John Hartzell   Cristian Moreno ran both track and cross country at Monarch High School, and, every year, he and teammate Brandon Flagler would compete in Coconut Creek’s Butterfly Run. “We treated it as a competition race, and we practiced for it together,” he says. They started running together when Moreno was a

Pictured from left to right: Jorge Ramos, executive chef at Conrad Fort Lauderdale Beach Paula DaSilva, executive chef at The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale Edgar Beas, executive chef at Dune, Auberge Beach Residences & Spa, Fort Lauderdale Jorlian Rivera, executive chef at S3, Fort Lauderdale Alex Becker, executive chef at Kuro, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel &

Chief Operating Officer, City Furniture Charitable involvements: Covenant House, American Cancer Society/Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, Habitat for Humanity, American Heart Association, Junior Achievement of South Florida, and more Why it’s personal: “Watching my mom [Doreen] fight her battle with breast cancer for two years [she died in July 2015 at age 62] was the

Founder/Managing Member, Kennedy Legal Team Sergeant, Florida Highway Patrol Auxiliary Charitable involvements: Florida Highway Patrol Advisory Council and Education Advisory Board for the city of Parkland Why it’s personal: “From the age of 11, I began working as a busboy at a seafood restaurant and was raised by my mother and three older sisters after

Michael D.Wild Managing Partner, WFP Law Charitable involvements: 2-1-1 Broward, HANDY (Helping Abused, Neglected and Disadvantaged Youth), Arc Broward, Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County, United Way of Broward County, and more Why it’s personal: “When my grandfather died in 2001, the family began receiving letter after letter from charities across the country thanking