- April 17, 2024
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The City Commission received a special pin by the Ormond Beach Lions Club on Wednesday, Aug. 2, commemorating Andy Romano, a longtime educator and influential business owner in Ormond Beach.
The Lions Club 60th anniversary pin was designed to honor and remember Romano for his nearly 60-year involvement with the Lions club. Ormond Beach Mayor Bill Partington received the pins when he participated in the club’s officer induction ceremony on June 28. Each of the City Commissioners were given a pin, which is one-of-a-kind and cannot be purchased or sold.
“I had the privilege of knowing Andy Romano in the last years of his life and he was a great citizen of Ormond Beach—someone who cared about this city until the day he died,” said City Commissioner Rick Boehm during the commission meeting.
Romano, whose name is immortalized in the city thanks to Andy Romano Beachfront Park, served as principal of Ormond Beach Middle School and was known for his beach concession Andy’s Rentals, which was the first business of its kind in Ormond. The beach chair and umbrella on the pin is a nod to Andy’s Rentals.
Romano’s daughter, Heidi, designed the pin. It shows one of the towers of the Romano park, which bears the city’s seal.
During the city commission meeting, Commissioner Troy Kent talked about his friendship with Romano before he died. He told the audience about how Romano got his start in Ormond Beach, walking them from the time Romano was a teacher to when the commission dedicated the park to him in March, 2013.
“He was one heck of a nice guy, and that’s why the commission years ago made the wise decision to name that park after the only individual that it should’ve been named after,” Kent said.
Ormond Beach Lion John Kerr said Andy Romano was probably the longest-serving member of their club. Romano died on February 3, 2015, just 5 months short of his 60th anniversary with the club.
“We decided that we would honor him and our longest-serving members by including the park design—the tower—on our pin in his honor and honor of all those who have served before us,” Kerr said.
