During the month of July 2010, Firefighters from Dunedin, Palm Harbor, Tarpon Springs, East Lake, Safety Harbor, and Oldsmar jumped into the Gulf of Mexico to rescue a mannequin from a vehicle during a simulated water rescue exercise. The sunken vehicle made of PVC and equipped with seatbelts sat at a depth of 8 feet while uniformed firefighters practiced techniques to safely rescue the patient from the submerged vehicle. The training not only provided a realistic view of the potential emergency calls Pinellas County Firefighters would respond to but prepared rescuers in other ways as well. As part of the training firefighters made rescues using lifeguard operated jet ski’s with a rescue sled for both unconscious and conscious patients. “It’s not uncommon for our firefighters to respond to Honeymoon Island or the causeway area for a water emergency,” said Palm Harbor Training Chief Tim Pilson. “This type of training prepares the responder for submerged vehicles in other bodies of water as well”.

The multiagency training, including the partnership with the Honeymoon Island State Park Lifeguards, allowed firefighters to visualize a rescue in choppy water with poor visibility, similar to what they would encounter in lakes and ponds. “There have been instances in Florida where Firefighters arrived on scene of a submerged vehicle and were unsure of how to handle the situation, said Pilson. Now Firefighters in North Pinellas County have the training to rescue a patient trapped in a submerged vehicle in shallow water.”

Ray Olan beginning his 11th season as " Mr Ray's Musical Theater " Musical Theater director @ DFAC's “It’s a great time to focus attention on the contributions of people of all heritages in the U.S.,” he said. Olan, who is known as “Mr. Ray,” was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Brooklyn. He met Ms. Maria, a native of Venezuela, in Orlando Florida. While visiting family in her native country, he was hired as a producer for Warner Brothers International Television, in part because of his multi-lingual talents. He developed a series of short entertainment segments called “Inside the Series,” which gave him an opportunity to interview some of the biggest stars in Hollywood.

His current emphasis is on “Mr. Ray’s Advanced Teen Musical Theater, & his Latin Jazz Band JAZZ O'LE” but is presenting workshops for Children/ Teens and Adults.  Classes run quarterly with the current session offering  "Scenes from Broadway Musicals" Shows like" WICKED" "SOUND OF MUSIC" "ANNIE 'STOMP " and others...Enrollment is ongoing. “We are always recruiting,” he said.“Our program is unique in that our students are also given instruction in theater, drama, dance, visual arts, and music,” he said. Students explore historical musical styles, music theory and the elements of music (melody, rhythm, form and tone color) through a variety of vocal, instrumental, rhythmic and creative dramatic listening activities.

Heritage and promoting multi-cultural understanding are important to Olan, whose first project in Safety Harbor was to create a multi-cultural musical theater program for children back in 1999. He then found his way to Dunedin and established Mr Ray's Musical Theater @ DFAC, 11 seasons later and still going strong.

“Mr. Ray’s Musical Theater works to create an environment for training, which is based on trust, mutual respect and passion,” he said. “We believe that it is from within this environment that students will be secure enough to take huge creative risks. In addition, I believe that the individual performer learns best from within the group, and that the theatre ensemble grows from the pro-active input of every individual.”

Olan began his musical journey when he was 11 years old, playing guitar with a Latin Rock band called the “Young Lads.” He said he was inspired by his father, who played with musical trios including Los Sancez and Daniel Santos. “They were the first Guaracha bands (trios) I ever heard,” he said.

After moving to New York, Olan chaperoned his older sisters to Latin dances. “I was band boy for groups like Eddie & Charlie Palmeri, Tito Puente, Ray Barretto and Richie Ray.”

He learned to play Latin piano — salsa music — and at age 15 formed his first band, “Ray Olan y su Sason,” which he said was known as “that Salsa Hippie band.” The band got a record deal with Alegre Records, a division of Roulette Records.

“We were playing the New York area, but with a twist,” Olan said. “I brought in great rock guitar players to play the funky guitar solos along with the two trombones that were the signature of my band. It was fusion salsa rock in its infant stage — little did Santana know!”

He attended Hofstra University in Long Island, NYU with studies in Musical Theater, but was focused on his music influences and Latin roots. He returned to Puerto Rico and studied in the University of Puerto Rico’s dramatic arts program, “Libertad” as a musical theater director.

“I have traveled across the globe and met adults and their families living in remarkably different communities yet as I travel, it is not the differences that strike me, but rather the magnificent similarities that make us all very much alike,” he said. “We all have curiosity, fears, hopes and dreams as well as an extraordinary gift to open our hearts to each other."

www.mrraysmusicaltheater.com

For more information about the DFAC classes, call 727-298-DFAC (3322).