Welcome to our Canadian snowbirds, Arnie Lipsey and Rita Vine.  Arnie and Rita split their time between Toronto and Village 5 in West Shore Village.  Their combined love of art, music, and dancing brought them to the St. Pete area in 2016, and to West Shore in 2018.

Following a decades-long career as an animator for film and TV, Arnie retired in 2017 and is now devoting himself to acrylic painting on a full time basis.  You can see his work at www.arnielipsey.com. Besides painting, Arnie is an avid amateur bartender and loves inventing new drinks to share with his guests.

Rita is a retired university librarian. She now consults with both US and Canadian university libraries, and teaches in the graduate library science program at the University of Toronto.  In her spare time she’s an avid competitive West Coast Swing dancer and studies with the area’s top pros. You can find more about her at www.ritavine.com

Together Rita and Arnie enjoy cooking, the extensive jazz music scene in Tampa Bay, and discovering new creative cocktail bars in the area.

New resident Connie Nye discovered St. Petersburg 5 years ago when her daughter decided to attend Eckerd College. Two years later, her older daughter moved to St. Petersburg as well. With neither daughter having any intention of moving back up north to Pennsylvania, Connie decided to move to St. Petersburg after falling in love with the area during her visits over the last few years.

Biking along Clam Bayou, Connie discovered West Shore Village and, with its close proximity to Gulfport, St. Petersburg, and St. Pete Beach, knew she had found her new home. Connie will spend some of the near future in Pennsylvania completing some work contracts and then reside in West Shore Village permanently. In Pennsylvania, Connie is an environmental educator with a specialty in watershed education. She has written a novel about the Brandywine Watershed in Pennsylvania and has just completed her first children’s book. She has a cat named Daisy.

Connie has worked with children in the field of science teaching, recreation, and environmental education for a very long time. She is the embodiment of her late father’s mantra, “Work is fun; it’s fun that’s work.” Connie loves her work with kids of all ages in the outdoors, especially when that work leads to a deeper understanding and respect for our natural world. Connie lives in the Brandywine Watershed (outside of Philadelphia), has two daughters, and a cat. New resident Connie Nye discovered St. Petersburg 5 years ago when her daughter decided to attend Eckerd College. Two years later, her older daughter moved to St. Petersburg as well. With neither daughter having any intention of moving back up north to Pennsylvania, Connie decided to move to St. Petersburg after falling in love with the area during her visits over the last few years.

Biking along Clam Bayou, Connie discovered West Shore Village and, with its close proximity to Gulfport, St. Petersburg, and St. Pete Beach, knew she had found her new home. Connie will spend some of the near future in Pennsylvania completing some work contracts and then reside in West Shore Village permanently. In Pennsylvania, Connie is an environmental educator with a specialty in watershed education. She has written a novel about the Brandywine Watershed in Pennsylvania and has just completed her first children’s book. She has a cat named Daisy.

Connie has worked with children in the field of science teaching, recreation, and environmental education for a very long time. She is the embodiment of her late father’s mantra, “Work is fun; it’s fun that’s work.” Connie loves her work with kids of all ages in the outdoors, especially when that work leads to a deeper understanding and respect for our natural world. Connie lives in the Brandywine Watershed (outside of Philadelphia), has two daughters, and a cat.