Officials eager to keep working for Interlachen

Three elected officials had no competition in their efforts to retain their seats on the Interlachen Town Council.

Chairwoman Carolyn Bennett, Vice Chairperson Carolyn Meadows and Councilwoman Beverly Bakker will continue their work as town leaders after officials announced Tuesday no one else filed to run for office.

Bennett, who is in her eighth year serving as a council member, said she is looking forward to serving another two-year term.

“I love Interlachen,” she said Wednesday. “It’s a diamond in the rough.”

The job can be challenging but rewarding, the chairwoman said. Bennett also noted she and her fellow council members work well together.

Aside from the three reelected commissioners, Council Members Joni Conner and David Yonts as well as Mayor Ken Larsen make up the rest of Interlachen’s elected officials.

Voters elected Yonts, who runs the Interlachen Soup Kitchen, in 2022. He replaced former Council Chairwoman Judi Costanzo, who chose not to seek another term. Conner and Larsen ran unopposed in 2022.

The town “has a lot going on,” Bennett said, with organizations being active, events happening and community facilities like Island Doctors offering activities for some of the town’s older residents.

Although Bennett is pleased with the community’s efforts to uplift the town, she said she would like to see more opportunities for the younger residents to get involved with the town, see the town maintain its growth and do more beautification projects.

All three women have lived in the town for more than 20 years and are retired educators, according to their biographies on the town’s website. Meadows has been a registered nurse for at least 40 years, according to her biography, and worked as a nursing teacher. Voters elected her and Bakker for the first time in 2011.

“It’s been an honor,” Meadows said Wednesday.

Meadows didn’t have any government experience before running for office, so being elected was a “whole new world” for her, she said.

“I’ve learned so much over the years,” she said Wednesday. “I’m happy to serve.”

Bakker, a retired teacher who worked at Interlachen Elementary School, said the best part of being on the Town Council is contributing to the betterment of Interlachen.

Bakker said she is happy to serve, which is why she’s run for office every other year since 2011.

“I’m just a true resident of Interlachen,” Bakker said. “I’m just so happy to be going back for another two years.”