No Capital ‘W’ in West Kendall
Superior Quality of Life
Means Unifying Kendall
 A community of ‘west’ Kendall “must have a character of its own, not an appendage of any other area,” he states, noting that “quite often, the residents of ‘east’ Kendall are using the name ‘Kendall’ alone.
Wander says he “would be delighted if west Kendall could attain that sense of hometown and the infrastructure that goes along with a superior quality of life.
“The Community Council should consider growth planning when reviewing zoning and variance applications,” he continues. “These councils were instituted to help the unincorporated areas become the communities we call ‘home’.”
Wander who served on the West Kendall Municipal Advisory Committee (WKMAC) looks forward to increasing public awareness of the growth, infrastructure needs of the area and building a sense of community, adding he didn’t want to be a resident of a west, east, south or north ‘anything.’
Wander ran unsuccessfully for Florida House of Representatives District 120 in 2006, noting that along the campaign trail, he saw identifiable hometowns as Homestead, Florida City, Key Largo, Marathon and Key West – areas whose strong sense of hometown he would like to see develop in ‘west Kendall.’
“The west is a diverse and widely-spread community, perhaps even too widely spread,” he comments. “But we hope that the new Carter Square shopping center may coalesce into a downtown area.”
Such main commercial and business areas have also developed around Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport, the new London Square complex, Kendall Breeze, Kendall Commons and around new Baptist Hospital development, as well as various strip malls, he notes.
Recognizing that ‘west Kendall’ has no cohesive downtown identity, he wants to promote a strong sense of Kendall’s quality of life throughout the area.
Jeffrey C. Wander: Background
Wander moved to Miami-Dade County in 1974 and to Kendall in 1984. He has been involved in issues that impact Miami-Dade County in the west since his election to the Board of Directors of the Lakes of the Meadow Homeowners Association in 1995 (the first board independent of the community’s developer). Serving as president thru 2005, he currently is vice president, and is also a director of Kendall Federation of Homeowners Associations, examining all issues effecting Kendall.
Now retired, he was a Police Sergeant of Miami-Dade Police Dept., awarded 23 commendations, two life-saving awards and a bronze medal of valor. He served in U. S. Army Military Intelligence from 1965-1968 as a special agent-in-charge for counterintelligence in Vietnam, including as Advisor to Province Chief of Military Security, Army of the Republic of Vietnam. From 1983-2002, he served with the U. S. Air Force Intelligence Operations Command/Air Intelligence Agency, assigned to a Special Tactics Group and in support of a Joint Interagency Task Force, Naval Air Station at Key West.
Wander served as a member of the Miami-Dade Citizens Transportation Advisory Committee (2003-2006); Advisory Committee to the State of Florida Missing Children’s Clearinghouse (1997-2000); Florida Sex Crimes Investigators Association Board of Directors (1994-2000); FDOT Krome Avenue North Citizen’s Advisory Committee (2004-2005); Miami-Dade School Safety Task Force (2003-2006); and Hammocks Police District Citizens Advisory Committee since 2000.
His community involvement includes service with the Homestead/Florida City Chamber of Commerce; Educational Advisory Committee and Educational Excellence Council, both of G. Holmes Braddock High School; community representative for Jane S. Roberts K-8 Public School Educational Excellence Advisory Council. He is a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (V.F.W.); American Legion Post; Cuban-Americans Veterans Association; Miami-Dade Police Benevolent Association; Florida Sheriffs Association; and was a former member of the International Police Organization.
Wander holds a B. A. in Criminal Justice from Biscayne College, Miami, Fl.; and an M. S. in Public Administration/Management from St. Thomas University. Husband of the former Martha Villamil, a retired City of Miami Police Sergeant, the couple are parents of three children: Marcus, Matthew and Meagan.
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