By Kyle Coppola
95-Year-Old Eustis Resident Honored for Reviving Lake Eustis Shoreline
The City of Eustis honored longtime resident Pat Davis this weekend with a day in her name, recognizing her decades of quiet service and transformative impact on Lake Eustis’ shoreline.
According to a post from Christine Cruz of CleanUp Eustis, Eustis Mayor Willie Hawkins officially declared July 20 as Pat Davis Day, paying tribute to the 95-year-old volunteer who has worked tirelessly to restore the lakefront, largely on her own and armed with little more than a garden rake and determination.
(Pat Davis was honored for her volunteer efforts to restore the Eustis Lakefront.)
City officials, including the Vice Mayor Gary Ashcraft, City Manager Tom Carrino and other staff, gathered to celebrate Pat, whose work has reshaped both the physical landscape and the community’s outlook on conservation.
“With nothing but a garden rake, Pat began restoring the lakefront by herself,” Christine says. “She cleared invasive plants and revealed what many had forgotten: Lake Eustis once had a beautiful sandy beach. Her work reminded us what’s possible and inspired a new generation of environmental stewards.”
(Eustis Mayor Willie Hawkins reads the proclamation to Pat who stood proudly in front of Lake Eustis.)
Pat moved to Eustis from Hollywood 47 years ago and has been volunteering with the CleanUp Eustis initiative for over four years.
Inspired by Pat’s work, the city has since incorporated a beach area into its Downtown Master Plan, a natural beauty she helped uncover.
Students and family members who have joined her in cleanups often find it hard to keep up. Her influence has stretched across generations, with relatives now volunteering in conservation efforts both locally and abroad.
(Pat was given flowers and felt the love and appreciation from everyone in attendance.)
“Pat’s dedication to conservation, her humility, and her heart are reminders that age is no limit to making a difference,” Christine says. “She is living proof that love for a place, and the will to protect it, can leave a legacy far greater than any of us can measure.”
Photos provided by Christine Cruz
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
