Chabad synagogue plan clears the city on a 3-2 vote
Plus a state all-sports title, a new Institute director, and a Chamber series on generations at work.
Here's what changed in Winter Park: commissioners approved a Chabad synagogue plan 3-2, Winter Park High won a statewide all-sports title, and local brand klassy. shared the story behind its first store.
The city signed off on a Chabad synagogue project last week, and the vote was close. Commissioners approved it 3-2 on August 26.
The plan is more than a house of worship. It also includes townhomes and a daycare on the site. That mix is part of why the decision drew objections.
Neighbors pushed back before the vote, focusing on traffic and parking. Supporters carried the night anyway, but only by one vote.
The narrow margin shows where the debate now stands. The project has city approval, while nearby residents remain focused on how cars and parking will work around a site that combines worship, housing, and childcare.
Damien Madsen launches MadsenSmith in Winter Park
Veteran broker Damien Madsen has launched MadsenSmith, a new commercial real estate firm based in Winter Park.
A new local brokerage means another team tracking which storefronts fill, which offices sit empty, and which properties trade. Those decisions can become neighborhood stories long after the deal closes.
For now, the concrete change is simple: Madsen is moving from working inside an established shop to putting his own name on a Winter Park firm.
Four local professionals talk across generations
The Winter Park Chamber has launched Generations in the Workplace, a five-part series about how different generations approach work. The first episode features Alice Christner, Anthony Diaz, Landra Wormack, and Mercedes McCall.
Their first-job stories start in very different places. Diaz inserted Sunday papers at a candy store. Wormack earned rewards for chores at home. McCall worked in her family's restaurant and had to reconcile her own apron after every shift. Christner started going to work with her father five days a week in sixth grade.
The group also talks about loyalty and leadership. Christner describes loyalty as the same commitment whether a job lasts three years or 30. McCall ties it to feeling part of a company's identity.
The Chamber represents more than 800 member businesses and says multigenerational workforce questions come up often. Four episodes will each focus on one generation. A final episode will bring all four generations together.
Winter Park High takes a state all-sports championship
Winter Park High just took the state's broadest sports prize. The school won an FHSAA all-sports championship. That title rewards a whole athletic program, not one team.
All-sports awards add up results across the year. Boys and girls, fall through spring, every program counts. Winning one means depth, not a single deep playoff run.
Bishop Moore earned a championship too. Central Florida had a strong year on the whole.
For families here, it is a fair measure of school athletics right now. Coaches, athletes, and a lot of weeknight driving all sit behind that title.
How klassy. went from an online launch to Park Avenue
Natalie Rogers Soto grew up in the Orlando area and could not find built-in bras that worked with the clothes she wanted to wear. She began designing her own, then launched klassy. online with her husband, Jacob, in 2018.
The early business grew through twice-daily TikTok posts. In 2022, its summer “brami” — a bra-and-camisole hybrid — went viral and generated $1 million in sales in one day.
The couple opened klassy's first and only retail store on Park Avenue late in 2025. The shop carries clothing designed to be worn without a separate bra and includes a small coffee counter.
Rogers Soto added another local milestone in March 2026, when the University of Central Florida College of Business inducted her into its Hall of Fame.
Winter Park Institute names a new executive director
The Winter Park Institute has a new executive director: Lindsay Kist. Her appointment was announced alongside leadership changes at several area organizations, including Osceola History.
Kist will now lead the Institute as its fall programming gets underway. The next calendar will offer the first look at the talks and speakers scheduled under her leadership.