Page 30 - PGA Community News - March '25

March 2025
Page 30, PGA C.A.N.! 2 Spaces March 2025
Benzaiten Center For Creative Arts

Do Not Miss The Most Fun After that, he went onto the
Dreyfoos School of the Arts
Gala In Town! and ultimately would finish his
junior and senior years at Lake
Each year the Benzaiten Center for Creative Arts holds a Worth High School, where he
gala to help raise money for their many “kids and scholarship” was encouraged to take part
programs. It is considered the most fun and least expensive in the city’s famous “Street
gala in town. So, if you’ve never attended, you are truly Painting Festival.”
missing out! His schooling, spent
Held on the veranda of the National Croquet Club’s predominantly in schools
center, overlooking its lush green lawns, it a great venue dedicated to the arts, offered
for Benzaitens’s annual gala. The men love it because it him a tremendous education
is a casual affair, and after dressing up all season this is a in art that he would have never
welcome reprieve. The silent auction is stellar due to all the received attending ordinary
many talented glass artists who contribute to it each year. schools. Thinking art consisted
They are so thankful to have such a great glass art facility mainly of painting and drawing Croquet Club’s veranda venue
here in Palm Beach County that they are more than happy to when he began, his mind
support the cause with some of their best work. Also, because opened to what else was possible. He learned color theory, knowledge. He understood the fullness of what it meant
of an inside connection with a major wine collector, the silent art history, different styles and disciplines, trying his hand to call yourself a professional artist. Yes, it could be fun,
auction provides some of the best wines to bid on such as at etching, sculpting and many other mediums. but it also meant many long years of hard work to hone
Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Chateau Margaux, or Chateau After high school he went to work on a cleaning your skills and to ultimately develop a signature style that
D’Yqeum … just to name a few! Sandy James who is the crew with his parents. He might have been stuck in that you could call your own.
in-house food purveyor for the Croquet Club always offers up job had it not been for a sign he noticed about a place He now works at Benzaiten five days a week, which
some of the best catered food in town. And because JoAnne called Benzaiten Center for Creative Arts, which had has enabled him to quit his cleaning job. Working as an
(JB) Berkow, founder and president of the center insists on glassblowing classes. He had to check it out. Once in the assistant to the many different professional artists who
everyone having a good time, she always makes sure that the center, watching people doing the extraordinarily hard rent time at Benzaiten has empowered Mateo and made
band is the best at getting people up and dancing! work of blowing glass into beautiful creations, he was him proficient enough in his skills so that one day soon,
But just as important to Berkow and the entire board of hooked. Determined to accumulate the necessary money to he will be able to begin making his own exotic creations.
the Benzaiten Center for Creative Arts is raising money for take the six-week beginner’s course, he saved up enough A career in art is definitely not for the faint of heart.
their many outreach programs in arts and culture by means to cover half the tuition and paid the other half with his tax To learn more about the gala, please contact the
of free classes and scholarships for young adults who want return’s dividend check. This was a determined young man. Benzaiten office or go to their website and press “On the
to continue a career in art. “We see well over 1,000 kids He began volunteering when he could and the Benzaiten’s Veranda” under the “Events” tab. You can also make a
through our doors each year free of charge,” says Berkow, staff was so impressed with his abilities and determination donation online or by contacting the office.
adding, “This gives these children and teens an exposure that he won a small scholarship that enabled him to take www.benzaitencenter.org
to the arts and what it means to make art that they would the center’s next level, eight-week course. (561) 508-7315
otherwise not be exposed to. It also instills in them a deeper Since then, he has won another, larger scholarship inspired@benzaitencenter.org
cultural appreciation that will hopefully stay with them for a and finally was sponsored by the center, and friends of Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
lifetime. We also give thousands of scholarship dollars away the center, to be Rob Stern’s assistant at Pilchuk, the Find Us: 1105 Second Avenue South, Lake Worth Beach,
each year as well. Some we give to talented, in-need artists, internationally famous glass school founded by Dale FL 33460
and others we give to benefit organizations such as the Boys Chihuly. During this stint he met many hardworking GPS doesn’t always get you here: Exit I-95 at Sixth
and Girls Clubs to enable them to participate in our summer professional artists who have made their careers in the Avenue and go east. Take a left at the blue Kwik Stop
kids’ programs.” field of glassblowing, sharing in their comradery and Store and then a right on Third Avenue South. Park in
experiencing their strong sense of community and shared our parking lot or anywhere on the street.
The Following Is An Intriguing

Scholarship Success Story

David Mateo’s
journey towards his
chosen career in art
was anything but
average. After all, in
the rough, tight-knit,
Guatemalan, working-
class neighborhood,
like the one where
David grew up, no Turning Pain into Power: A Message to My Supporters
kid would dare to Public service should be about ideas, integrity, and solutions. But my opponent and his team have chosen a different
imagine a career in path—one of personal attacks and exploiting my past struggles to distract from the real issues that matter to you.
art. It just wasn’t Yes, I have faced the daily battle of the incurable disease, alcoholism. Like millions of Americans, I have dealt
done. How would his with a disease that does not define me but has shaped my resilience, my empathy, and my determination to serve
father tolerate such a the residents of Palm Beach Gardens. Addiction is not a moral failing; it is a challenge that countless families,
departure from their veterans, workers, and leaders have faced. And like them, I have fought—and continue to fight—every single day.
shared collective David Mateo, one of Benzaiten’s
reality? Of course, scholarship successes Through the unwavering support of my ex-wife, my family, my son, my friends and my amazing Alcoholics
that was exactly the Anonymous support family, I have remained sober, one day at a time, for 13 years. My 10 years of service,
typical reaction one would expect, and the patriarch of dedication and commitment to the City of Palm Beach Gardens as the Chairman of 2 advisory boards, clearly
Mateo’s family was no exception. The Mayan culture, as so demonstrate I’m fit to serve and lead the City of Palm Beach Gardens into its next growth cycle and beyond.
many cultures around the world, is set up as a male-dominated
society. However, as we all know, many households My opponent wants to use my disease against me, not because it makes me unfit to lead, but because they have no
within such societies are often ruled by its women. Here’s real solutions or answers to offer. They would rather smear my character than talk about their own record of being
where Mateo’s dreams of an art career got a helping hand. completely uninvolved, detached and unconnected with the City of Palm Beach Gardens. But I won’t be bullied
Constantly drawing and doodling from an early age, he into silence. I stand here today as someone who understands hardship, who has faced darkness and refused to let
obtained the encouragement from his mother to keep his the negatives win. For this, makes me stronger and fit to serve. It makes me more prepared to fight for the people
artistic impulses alive and well. who feel unheard, who need a champion and leader who won’t back down—even when faced with adversity.
He lived in the second poorest city in Palm Beach
County, Lake Worth, attending South Grade Elementary Leadership isn’t about being perfect; it’s about being honest, being accountable, and never giving up on the people
School, one of the city’s many Title 1 schools. He was able who trust you to represent them. I know struggle, I know perseverance, and I know the strength it takes to keep
to take some art classes, and one day, at one of the school’s going. My past does not disqualify me—my 40 years of experience makes me the best person for this fight. To
art exhibits, a scout from the Bak Middle School of the Arts those who have ever struggled, who have ever felt judged for their past, their mistakes—I see you. I hear you. I
approached Mateo about applying to his school. With help will help you. And I will fight for you.
from his teachers and other kids who had gone through the
same process, he filled out the necessary application forms They can attack me all they want. But I am still here. And I will not be defined by their words. I will be defined by
and set up a date for his “tryout.” He’ll never forget that my actions, leadership, fitness to serve and my sobriety.
day. Full of nervous tension, he went to the Bak MSOA’s
campus where he and other potential students were led And that is why we will win.
into a room with four kids at each table. These tables were
stocked with sheets of card-stock paper, scissors and tape,
and each child was given the same assignment: to build
a structure using the least amount of tape as possible.
He must have done a good job as he was accepted, and Political Advertisement approved and paid for by Chuck Millar for Palm Beach Gardens City Council – Group 4
subsequently attended Bak for the next three years.