Westhaven

Written by
Helen Meeley
For The Tennessean

On the morning of March 31, on the lush green great lawn in the back of the Westhaven Clubhouse, a large gathering of colorfully dressed children were waiting eagerly for the seventh annual Westhaven Easter Egg Hunt to begin. Along with the kids, their parents, and grandparents also eagerly waited, all ready with cameras, as everyone was ready to pounce on the word “go.”

Volunteers, including Libby and James Ballard, and clubhouse activity leaders Alex Shearer and Linda Vendemo had come as early as 8:30 a.m. to seed the great lawn and the playground with plastic multicolored eggs filled with candy. The candy eggs, two dozen each, had been brought by each parent per child, to the clubhouse, during the week. So the lawn, bushes and playground were colorfully dotting the now fantasy landscape on this lovely spring day.

When the great egg hunt of 2012 took off, kids were pulled to the pastel orbs as if magnetized. The parents and grandparents followed, as they tried to oversee the children’s efforts and photograph the great event. Crossing the lawn, comments from parents could be heard: “Honey, no, please don’t touch that!” “That’s his egg … it was in his basket!” “Sweetheart, please, don’t squeeze the chocolate” “Dear, maybe you should wait until you’ve had lunch, before you eat more?” “You ate … everything?”

After all the age groups had finished, the Easter Bunny arrived to greet the kids and top off the event. It was truly fun for all.

“It was really a great fun family undertaking,” said Amy Law, director of clubhouse operations.

Becky Timmons, clubhouse manager, summed it all up: “It was Egg-cellent!”

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120404/WILLIAMSON0701/304040039/Westhaven-Physical-therapist-gives-patients-STAR-treatment

Helen Meeley
For The Tennessean

Jennifer Thomas, PT, DPT, always knew she would be in a medical field, even though she comes from a family of teachers.

Her family had spent their lives putting dreams within reach of children by giving them the tools to create positive lives. She went into physical therapy because she found she was also able to make a positive impact on people’s lives. Every day, Jennifer says, she gets great joy in seeing people able to enjoy life again, without pain or physical limitations.

She has helped every age, from a 5-month-old baby to a 98-year-old. All left better off than when they came. Her kindness is the magic part of her treatment. She makes you want to reach the goals she creates.

Her husband, Jet Thomas, is also a physical therapist. Their love story started when they met as undergrads at University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and continued on to UT Memphis, where they both received their doctorates in physical therapy and their Mr. and Mrs. in a marriage certificate. So caring for people is definitely a family affair.

She opened Star Physical Therapy Clinic in the Westhaven Town Center in 2010. As clinic director, Jennifer and her talented staff have been taking the pains out of Westhaven. From necks to backs to hips to knees to elbows to ankles, them bones are out there, moving again.

STAR, itself a Franklin success story, started in 1997 with one clinic. Now, 15 years later, it has close to 70 in Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana. Go to www.starpt.com and click on clinics then Westhaven for more information.

Even the clinic itself is designed to put patients at ease. The weights, belt, balls and other tools of the trade are in bright colors, giving a place where people come in pain a cheerful countenance. The waiting room, under the genuinely sweet assistance of front desk co-coordinator Theresa Hart, has become a meeting place of neighbors and friends who run into each other when coming in for treatment.

I’m not saying you should break a leg, but if you do, this is a great place to come.

By Carole Robinson, Staff Writer
crobinson@williamsonherald.com

In a brief ceremony last Friday morning at the Westhaven Harris Teeter, Franklin Mayor Ken Moore was the first to reserve a ticket for the 2012 St. Jude Dream Home. This year marks the eighth home Southern Land and participating sponsors have built in the Westhaven community.

Tickets are $100 for a chance at winning the three-bedroom house with three and half baths, a see-through stone fireplace and a vaulted family room valued at $560,000. It also features a new floor plan not seen yet in Westhaven and a storm shelter, an important feature considering the number of area tornado warnings, watches and touch downs in recent years. Tickets may also be reserved at both American Signature Furniture locations and participating Middle Tennessee Regions Bank locations.

The Dream Home Giveaway benefits the lifesaving work of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, one of the world’s premier pediatric cancer and catastrophic disease research centers and where no child is turned away because of the family’s inability to pay.

“We have here in Tennessee one of the top research hospitals in the world,” Moore said. “I have five reason for supporting this program. Number one – it’s important to the [Erby] family. Number two – it’s important to pediatric cancer research. Number three – this helps so patients don’t have to pay for treatment. Number four – eventually we may eradicate cancer in children. Number five – look at Cooper [Erby] – he grabs your heart. He’s full of life thanks to St. Jude.”

The partnership between Westhaven and St. Jude is all about giving back to the community, said Mary Lee Bennett, marketing director for Southern Land Company.

“It’s one of the things that makes Westhaven different from other places,” she added. “There a lot of young families here and a lot of multi-generational families who are here to watch their grandchildren grow. They can all share in helping other children who are suffering from life-threatening diseases. We are so appreciative of the vendors and tradesmen who contribute the time and materials to make this happen.”

Steve Bryan with Habiframe Horizontal Building Systems, is one of those vendors. Habiframe is providing the storm shelter.

“We are extremely proud to be involved with the St. Jude home this year,” he said. “We are happy to do anything we can do to help children in need.”

Tickets may also be purchased during the Dream Home Open House beginning May 12, online at www.dreamhome.org or by calling 800-746-6713.

There are 20 other prizes valued at $1,000 or more in which tickets will be drawn including a private golf outing for eight at Westhaven Golf Club, LLC, home audio equipment package, tickets to the Nashville Symphony, Taylor Swift autographed guitar and a 14K gold and diamond necklace.

131 of more than 2,000 homes were sold in 2011, making it the top seller in Williamson County. / THE TENNESSEAN / FILE

Fieldstone Farms, Franklin’s first planned development, and Westhaven, the neighborhood that will soon overtake it as the biggest in the county, were the top-selling neighborhoods in Williamson County in 2011.

According to Diane Osowiecki and Mandy Buchholz of Diane O and Friends, out of Benchmark Realty in Brentwood, home sales improved in 2011 after several challenging years.

“Fieldstone … has a Publix grocery store, restaurants and a school. It has everything from condos to zero-lot line to a senior community,” Osowiecki said of the neighborhood, which registered 131 home sales in 2011.

Amy Tarter of Bob Parks Realty says Fieldstone remains desirable because of its good location, pool, clubhouse and homes in a wide variety of price ranges.

This is the view from the porch of one of the brownstones along Eliot Road in Franklin’s Westhaven neighborhood. / JEANNE REASONOVER / FILE / THE TENNESSEAN

Westhaven, with 115 home sales in 2011 — with an average sales price of $526,000 — was the second-best seller in Franklin, according to Osowiecki.

“They have lots of amenities, and building has really begun booming there again,” Tarter said.

The third-most-active neighborhood in Franklin for 2011 was McKay’s Mill. According to Osowiecki, 72 single-family homes sold there.

“The community is now a seller’s market,” she said. “There’s so little inventory there. It’s a very popular live, work and play community.”

Next on the list, she said, is Ladd Park, with 58 single-family homes sold.

“The community has over two miles of Harpeth River frontage; 240 acres of open space are connected by 10 acres of trails, making it very desirable,” Osowiecki said.

Tarter said Ladd Park’s prices became more reasonable in 2011, helping it make a comeback from a lull.

Fifth on the list of top sellers in Franklin is Franklin Green with 51 sales in 2011. Osowiecki says this community’s great price point made it a top seller. Tarter says the price point and family orientation of the community enhanced its sales.

…Excerpts from the Tennessean…