The Port St John Community Foundation non-profit organization was founded by Port St John residents Andrew Procell, Tia Mahan and Randy Rodriguez.
Andrew Procell, Chair
Andrew Procell had a vision for the community of Port St John to come together and build a foundation where residents could help and support each other while having fun. This would be accomplished by holding community events to promote family fun and raise funds to support individuals in need.
Originally from Winter Park Florida, Andrew moved to Brevard County in 2002 and two years later he started Freedom Air & Heat. Andrew made Port St John home in 2008 and is where he and his wife raise their family of 5. Freedom Air & Heat has grown over the years and has recently expanded to include Plumbing services for Brevard and Indian River county employing over 60 employees in this area.
When Andrew joined with Tia Mahan, the President of the Space Coast Panthers Youth Football and Cheerleading and Randy Rodriguez, Realtor and Publisher/Owner of HAPPENINGS magazine, everything came together and the non-profit organization the Port St John Community Foundation was formed. The Foundation's first event was Thunder Over the Indian River 2019!
Tia Mahan, Co-Chair
Born into a military family stationed in Maryland, Tia settled in Brevard County in 1979. Tia has resided in Port St. John since 1998 where she has raised 2 sons and a daughter. Tia presently works full time, and in 1994 she began volunteering as a cheer coach and is currently the President of the Space Coast Panthers Youth Football and Cheerleading league out of Brevard County, with the Mid Florida Youth Conference.
In 2014 Tia took the lead on Thunder Over the River with help from her family and her Panthers family. There had been community interest for the event to continue even though Randy had stepped down. The event could not take place as planned in July due to weather but was carried out as a Back to School Bash in August. The event was not held between the years of 2015 to 2018. In 2019, Tia, Randy, and Andrew formed the Port St. John Community Foundation as a means for support to make sure the event was brought back and will continue for years to come.
In 2020, during the start of the COVID crisis it was quickly apparent that the high school seniors would be losing access to the typical rights of passage as a graduating high school student. Tia organized and hosted a masquerade themed prom open to all of Brevard county graduating seniors, which was a great success. She also began the Adopt-A-Senior program and worked with senior parents to host a senior parade for the Space Coast Vipers Seniors specifically. The parade continued for 2021. The adoption program has continued every years since the start. Tia's dedication to the community and continued support is well respected not only by parents and their children but businesses, schools, and Port St John residents.
The Port St John Community Foundation seems to be the alliance that will guarantee a future for Thunder Over the Indian River and many more family events for our community. Also, with the formation of PSJ Cares the foundation's goal is to help those families in need due to unforeseen circumstances with monetary assistance or fundraising to help when needed.
Randy Rodriguez, Senior Director
Born in Daytona Beach, Randy lived in several Florida cities growing up. In 1984 while serving in the US Navy he settled with his family in Port St John. Since that time Randy has had a commitment to be involved in county legislature and policy to make sure the unincorporated Port St John community has a voice. In 1985 Randy became a Realtor, was an owner of Happenings Real Estate in Port St. John for 15 years and is still active with Coldwell Banker Realty in Port St. John.
In 1990 Randy was motivated to start the popular local monthly news magazine HAPPENINGS. At that time Brevard County, without much press or notice, was trying to force PSJ homeowners to add a sewer system that would cost individual homeowners $15,000. The Port St John Homeowners Association was the group that stood up to fight for unincorporated Port St John residents. In 1990 HAPPENINGS also started a tradition with the first Port St John Christmas Parade. The parade continues to be the highlight each year for residents in the community. Local businesses, schools and residents all participate. In 1993 the first Independence Day celebration and fireworks show was started as Community Blast with the support of the American Legion, PSJ Jaycees, PSJ Seniors, PSJ Homeowner’s Association, PSJ Kiwanis and community volunteers. A few years later it became Thunder Over the Indian River. This spectacular Independence Day fireworks display was absent for 4 years, but with the formation of the Port St John Community Foundation the event was back again this year with great success.
Randy's commitment to the Port St John community is well recognized. Along with Coldwell Banker Realty and HAPPENINGS magazine, Randy also is a member of the Central Florida Motorcycle Drill team and travels throughout the country with precision drill team demonstrations. Many longtime residents have given Randy the well-deserved title of the unofficial Honorary Mayor of Port St John.
