The Villages Cheerleaders will be celebrating their 20th anniversary on Oct. 23 at Laurel Manor Recreation Center. At the event, founder Gerry Lynch will be awarding five members with 20-year pins: Gerry Stanley, Ruth Terrian, Shirley Kyler, Ann Van Doren and Leah Wilkes.
The cheerleaders formed as an official group in 1995 and started with 30 members. Since their formation, Lynch’s phone hasn’t stopped ringing with requests for the cheerleaders to perform. The cheerleaders now number 100 in membership, with about a two-year waiting list to join. They perform at more than 100 events a year, including store openings, parades and celebrations on the squares. This past Fourth of July, the cheerleaders managed to perform at all three squares within a two-hour period. Lynch rented a bus to transport the cheerleaders from square to square.
The idea for the cheerleaders was hatched over drinks following a cheering session for the Battle of the Sexes competition or “BOTS” to those who have lived here long enough to remember this activity. Lynch felt there should be a year-round group and contacted Recreation Department chief John Rohan. Given the green light, the cheerleaders have worked alongside the Recreation Department ever since to provide entertainment for residents of The Villages.
In addition to the performance part which everyone sees, the cheerleaders are hard workers behind the scenes. In the last 20 years they have raised more than $100,000 for charity. They do this by selling hot dogs and baked goods at the craft shows, Treasures & Treats, an indoor garage sale and a fashion show. Many worthy causes have been the recipient of their donations including Relay for Life, the Moffitt Cancer Center and hospice. But that’s not all. They also put all the candles together for the tree lighting ceremonies. Bit of Village trivia for you, Lynch was the first Villages resident invited to light the tree at the tree-lighting ceremony. That was back when there was one square.
When she and her husband Dick moved here in 1992 the golf cart bridge over U.S. Hwy. 27/441 wasn’t there, it opened the next year. They watched Spanish Springs being built. Fast forward to 2015 and the cheerleaders recently cheered at the opening of the 78th swimming pool in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown.
The appreciation from the crowd really keeps them going.
“It just makes you feel good when you hear people say, ‘Oh great the cheerleaders are here,'” Lynch said.
And after 20 years they are not phoning it in. Lynch choreographs new routines for every event. The cheerleaders practice once a week and during parades that is Lynch in the back of the golf cart directing the cheerleaders.
She credits cheerleading with helping the members fight their illness and working hard to shorten their recovery time because they want to get back to cheering – herself included. Home after a hip replacement she got a call for a particular event that she really wanted to participate in and in less than a month she was back dancing and cheering. Being part of the cheerleaders is really a family feeling and the girls don’t want to miss it.
Several members are in their 80s.
“Excitement is good for your health,” Lynch said.
Keeping this large group organized is a huge job. For many years Lynch did it all herself. She now works with a board to get everything done. When asked what made her stick with it all of these years, she smiled and said “Well, when you give birth to something, you have to see it through.”
