CLEARWATER — It is an arranged marriage and will only last a year.
But it's still thrilling for Circuit Court Judge Walter "Skip'' Schafer and Janet Rosenquist, who were pronounced Mr. and Mrs. Countryside on Tuesday evening at Synovus Bank before about 50 guests dressed in business casual.
Every year since 1997, a man and a woman who live in the Countryside area have been given the honor for their service to the community, volunteerism and dedication to civic duty. The event is sponsored by Synovus Bank and the Countryside Rotary Club.
Schafer and Rosenquist were shocked they had been chosen.
One afternoon in late July, Schafer got a call from a longtime friend, Dr. Dan Mullett.
Mullett, a dentist, wanted to see him as soon as possible, and it wasn't about his teeth.
"I stopped by his office and he had balloons that said 'Congratulations!' '' Schafer said. "I said, 'What for?' He said, 'You're Mr. Countryside.' "
Schafer, 61, said he was "totally taken by surprise.''
So was Rosenquist, an estate tax planning partner at Bollenback & Forret CPA firm.
"I'm humbled,'' she said of being named Mrs. Countryside. "I look at (the previous winners) and say wow, they've done so much more than me. But everybody can make a contribution big or small and make a difference in someone's life.''
Schafer grew up in St. Petersburg and was raised by parents who instilled in him their strong Midwestern ethics.
Their values included "don't flaunt your wealth'' and "if you make a gift and more than two people know about it, you've done it for the wrong reason.''
Before becoming a judge, he had a practice that focused on taxation, wills, estate planning and corporate, business and real estate law.
In 2005, Gov. Jeb Bush appointed him to be a circuit judge for Pinellas and Pasco counties.
He now handles probate and juvenile delinquency cases, and has incorporated the golden rule into his courtroom.
He asks defendants if they know what the golden rule is. If they say no, he hands them a business card that says, "Treat other people the same way you want to be treated.'' He has given out 2,000 cards.
He loves to spend time with his children, Walter III, Kurt and Kyle.
He is past chairman of the St. Petersburg College Foundation, past president of Mease Health Care Foundation, past treasurer of Morton Plant Mease Foundation, past vice chairman of the Pinellas County Sheriff Civil Service Review Board and past president of the Pinellas Executives Association. He also is involved in the Pinellas County Estate Planning Council, Leadership Pinellas and Leadership Tampa Bay.
A certified public accountant, Rosenquist's practice involves estate and gift planning, charitable gift giving, family limited partnerships, small-business consulting and taxation of individuals and small businesses.
Rosenquist, 57, moved to Florida in 1975. She is a past president of the Pinellas County Estate Planning Council and is a member of both the American and Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants. She is a past treasurer of the UPARC Foundation and is a current member of the Morton Plant Mease Foundation and Leadership Pinellas.
She also loves to spend time with her daughter, Alexandra, a freshman at the University of South Florida.
"We're looking for people that just don't do a one-time (charitable) thing,'' said Bob Bentz, a former Mr. Countryside. "A lot of people do things when their kids are young, but do they continue?''
He said Schafer and Rosenquist do.
Eileen Schulte can be reached at schulte@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4153.
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