Announcements

These shelters are located on the north and south side stops near the Vineland Road-State Road 535 intersection. Linda Goodwin-Nichols, a Kissimmee Realtor, began her involvement in the long-running project on U.S. Highway 192 when she was named chair of the Kissimmee Osceola County Chamber of Commerce's Beautification Committee.

According to Linda, "The chamber had done a project in downtown Kissimmee in the early '70s. The West 192 Resort Area Council, now known as the Osceola Resort Area Council or ORAC, had been created and we began looking at a roadway that was not safe, not lighted and was just ugly. We got a $5,000 grant for a study of 192 from the western end all the way to Nova Road east of St. Cloud." The project was narrowed down to the section between Black Lake Road and Hoagland Boulevard.

"The county told us that 75 percent of the property owners on 192 would have to agree to tax themselves in order to fund the work," Linda said.

"I think we ended up with over 80 percent of the owners going along with the idea." It was now 20 years since the original study and there were more than the expected delays over the next 10 years that it took to actually complete what became known as the 192 BeautiVacation Project. "I didn't think I would live to see it finished," she admitted.

Work was done in three phases, with the last section, from State Road 535 to Hoagland Boulevard, completed in 2006. During her time on the board, Linda continued to operate her real estate office on West Oak Street. She served eight years on the Kissimmee City Commission served as Mayor in 2005 through 2006.

Valerie Sewell, the current chair of the advisory board, said she served with Linda for many years. "Linda worked very hard on the board," Sewell said. "She was persistent and used her powers of persuasion in dealing with local and state agencies. Most of all, she is very committed to the community."