The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida • B2

Orlando Sentinel: PRODUCT: OS DESK: LOC DATE: 07-21-2007 EDITION: FLA ZONE: FLA PAGE: B2.0 DEADLINE: 21.51 OP: mangle COMPOSETIME: 22.17 CMYK B2 Orlando Sentinel SATURDAY, JULY 21, 2007 EXrBKDIYPOnURDEIUID Canceled Medicare plan affects 11,000 in Florida ROGER A. WILLIAMS II 1910-2007 Longtime Apopka principal made a difference for students transferred retroactively to a similar Medicare Advantage plan, SecureHorizons, offered by UnitedHealthcare, she said. Its benefits are nearly identical to those offered by America's Health Choice, Block said, which should make the transfer seamless. Those who prefer another plan, or want to join the government's original Medicare plan, will have 90 days to do so. The America's Health Choice plan, which has had a contract with CMS since July 2000, had a history of noncompliance that recently had reached the level of threatening patient care, Block said.

She said beneficiaries with questions could call toll-free numbers with CMS (1-800-633-4227) or SecureHorizons (1-888-507-9352). Harry Wessel can be reached at hwesselorlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5506. By HARRY WESSEL SENTINEL STAFF WRITER More than 11,000 Medicare Advantage beneficiaries in Florida, including 343 in Brevard County, learned Friday that their plan has been terminated by the government. The private Medicare plan, offered by America's Health Choice Inc. in Vero Beach, was terminated as of midnight Thursday, said Abby Block, director of beneficiary choice for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

It's the first Medicare Advantage plan to be terminated for quality-of-care reasons, she said. While unaware of any harm to patients, "we felt we had to act quickly before that occurred," Block said. The beneficiaries most of whom live in St. Lucie, Palm Beach, Martin, Indian River and Broward counties would not experience any interruption in service; they have been fmmmm and a spirit that permeates the whole student body. He saw how athletics could make a difference in the kids' lives who were at risk.

He thought it was an avenue to give kids an opportunity to stay interested in school and stay in school." Known as a fair but firm disciplinarian, Williams wouldn't hesitate to get involved if a student were having trouble, his son said. When Williams learned a student didn't have lunch money, he paid it out of his own pocket. If a member of a student's family died, he attended the funeral. "He took a personal interest in the lives of his students. He was always accessible.

He had an open door," his son said. "He took every phone call. He gave strict instructions to his staff not to screen calls. His style of leadership was that he was going to confront whatever somebody wanted to talk about and deal with it personally. His Christian faith was a core element of everything he did, especially his help with disadvantaged students." Williams was the recipient of numerous awards and honors during his career, including having a street named after him by the Orange County Commission in 1968 and being selected as The Outstanding Citizen in Apopka in 1980.

"After all the awards and titles, that's not what it was all about for him. It was about making a difference in the lives of students," his son said. "Taking a personal interest in the students and making a difference in their lives: That's what he was about." Survivors also include his wife, Elizabeth Smith Williams of Apopka; daughter, Lisa Williams Sellers of Tallahassee; and four grandchildren. Loomis Family Funeral Home, Apopka, is handling arrangements. Joseph Rassel can be reached at jrasselorlandosentinel.com or 407420-5658.

By JOSEPH RASSEL SENTINEL STAFF WRITER Roger Williams is an icon in the city of Apopka. Perhaps no other resident, except for Mayor John Land, is more revered for his role as a leader in the northwest Orange County city. As principal of Apopka High School, a position he held from 1946 to 1980, he made a difference in the lives of teachers and thousands of students through generations of families. Williams, a Florida educator for more than 40 years, died Wednesday of complications from pneumonia. He was 97.

During the integration of Orange County's public schools in 1969, when feelings ran high on both sides, Williams led Apopka High through one of the smoothest transitions in the county during the consolidation with Phyllis Wheatley High School, the previously all-black school. "The first thing I did was ask the black principal at Wheatley to meet with his students," Williams said during an interview in 2005. "I told the kids I came to sympathize because they loved their school. I told them they'd be treated fair and nice, and we'd be glad to have them." Orange County School Board member Kat Gordon has referred to Williams as "a man ahead of his time." Two years before the court order desegregating Florida schools was signed, Williams recruited Gordon, then a librarian in New York, to be Apopka High's first black teacher. "Mr.

Williams knew the handwriting was on the wall, so he started calling around to black universities and colleges in the South and everywhere," Gordon said. "He was not afraid to approach African-Americans. Nobody wanted to come near us no matter how good we were, and he was willing to give us a try, and he researched information on us to make sure we were the best for the students in Apop- ORLANDO SENTINEL FILE Roger A. Williams, Apopka High principal from 1 946 to 1 980, led the school through integration. ka.

That's what made him different." Though Gordon eventually chose an Orlando school because there was no housing for black residents in Apopka at the time, they remained friends, she said. "He sought us out. He didn't have to do it, but he was way ahead of his time," Gordon said. "He was stacking up with African-American teachers when nobody even wanted us at their school." Williams strived to provide two things to Apopka High: excellence in academics and athletics. He dreamed the Blue Darters would become an athletic power and worked toward that end by serving the Florida High School Activities Association as president, executive board member and worker.

In 1977, the Orange County School Board named the high-school athletic field Roger Williams Field. He was inducted into the FHSAA Inaugural Hall of Fame class in 1991. "He knew how you could instill pride in a student body with good sports teams," said his son, Roger F. Williams of Altamonte Springs. "By being outstanding in athletics, it established a pride Wingfield North 2749 Deer Berry Ct.

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